


Something Forbidden

by bromanceorromance



Series: Forbidden Love [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Beard Relationship, F/M, M/M, Publicity, Publicity Stunts, Secret Relationship, Secrets, Sequel, Slow Build, Touring
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-02-16 18:43:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 44
Words: 75,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2280621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bromanceorromance/pseuds/bromanceorromance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Riley has been Harry's beard for a while now and has accepted that she isn't allowed (by contract) to be in a relationship with anyone else. But then she finds out how Liam feels about her and things start getting complicated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A New Friend; An Old Enemy

"I have a shopping date. Are you proud of me?" I announced upon arriving home one afternoon.

Louis chuckled. "Have you made a friend, Riley?"

"Yep, we're going shopping tomorrow," I replied with a grin.

"Good for you, love," Harry said, returning his attention to the TV.

"Who is this friend?" Louis asked.

"Her name's Michelle. She comes into the bookstore fairly often. I convinced her to read If I Stay and won her over with all of the feels."

 

\---

 

"You live with your boyfriend?" Michelle asked as we flicked our way through a rack of dresses that were marked down on clearance.

"Yep," I replied. "He got sick of me having to fly back and forth and him having to fly back and forth. We just decided it'd be easier if I lived here."

"How long have you been together?"

"Going on seven months," I replied. I hated that I had to keep up this act with her, but I couldn't really tell people the truth.

"That's fast," she commented, eyebrows raised. It was fast, I'd admit it.

"How did you end up in London?" I asked. She had an American accent, so I knew she wasn't from around here.

"Job opportunity presented itself and I couldn't refuse. I always wanted to spend some time living overseas, so when Modest! offered a position in London, I snapped it up," she replied, pulling a teal dress out to get a better view.

"Modest!?" I asked, suddenly suspicious of this girl and how much she actually knew about me.

"Yeah, they're a management company. They have contracts with acts like Olly Murs, One Direction, Little Mix," she listed off a few.

"Oh, what do you do with them?" I was glad I hadn't said anything about my 'boyfriend' beyond his name being 'Harry' as I waited for her answer.

"Oh, I'm in public relations. I've been gunning to get on One Direction's account, since they're the biggest act we've got right now, but I've been working with Olly Murs, mostly. I do a little bit with most of our accounts, but they won't let me near One Direction for some reason."

"That's weird," I replied, focusing on the gray dress in front of me to avoid eye contact. "Is it just because they're such a big account?"

"I guess so," Michelle replied with a shrug.

 

\---

 

"So, my friend works for Modest!," I informed the boys that evening with a slight frown.

They both looked over at me. "What?" Louis asked.

"Apparently she works for Modest!. I'm not sure how much she knows about you guys; she just said she's been gunning to get put on your account," I replied.

"Does she know about you and Harry?" Louis asked with a frown.

"All she knows from me is Harry's first name. I haven't told her anything about him beyond that, I don't think."

"Well, I would just feel her out a bit more. Figure out if she knows who your boyfriend is and go from there. It could all just be coincidence," Harry assured me.

"Be careful, though," Louis added.

 

\---

 

"Do you even make enough working here to afford to live in London?" Michelle asked at the bookstore one afternoon.

I switched a few books on the shelf before answering her. "My boyfriend was already paying all the bills on his place, and he likes taking care of me, so I don't pay much of the bills."

"He's paying all the bills on his own? What does _he_ do? Sell drugs?" she asked.

I laughed. "He's a musician."

"Harry…Harry…he must not be too famous, I can't think of any Harry's that live in London," she replied, tapping her finger against her chin in thought. "Unless you're dating Harry Styles," she laughed.

I quickly resumed organizing the children's books in front of me.

"When do I get to meet your boyfriend?" she asked after a few more thoughtful moments.

"I don't know. I mean, I made friends with you so I didn't have to spend all my time with him," I reminded her, thinking I'd avoid the introduction as long as I could.

I heard a jingle indicating a customer entering the store and then, "Hey, love, you get off soon, right?" Harry appeared around the shelf I was organizing.

I looked up at him in surprise, silently thanking whatever deity there was that it was just him and not Louis that had randomly decided to come pick me up.

"I thought you had meetings all day," I remarked, hesitantly glancing towards Michelle to see her reaction. She didn't seem incredibly surprised by his appearance, which made me suspicious.

"We got done early, I thought I'd see if you wanted to go with me to get stuff for dinner," he shrugged, glancing over at Michelle. "Who is this?"

"Harry, this is my friend Michelle. Michelle, this is my boyfriend Harry," I quickly introduced them, slipping my arm around Harry's waist to appear the ever-loving couple.

"Ah, yes, I've heard about you," Harry replied, smiling at her.

"I did not realize who you were, but I've heard a bit about you as well," Michelle nodded, shooting me a suspicious glance.

"Sorry, I didn't know how to break the 'I'm dating Harry Styles' thing, so I figured it would just happen whenever it happened," I apologized with a guilty smile.

 

\---

 

"What'd you think?" I asked Harry as we walked the short distance to the store.

"She seems nice," he replied with a nod.

"Does she seem like a person that would make friends with me to move her career up?" I asked, frowning at him.

"I think you need to give her the benefit of the doubt. I don't think someone would go so far to advance their career," Harry assured me, holding the door open as I walked inside the grocery store.

"I've only known her a week or so, really," I conceded, pondering her behavior.

"Besides, if it falls apart, you've still got Lou and me to hang out with. We're still your best friends."

I smiled. "Yeah, I know, I just also know that you'll leave for tour in a few months and I'll be lonely," I replied.

"You can come with us as much as you want, though," he reminded me. He and Louis had assured me that I was welcome to join them on tour, although I didn't see how I could keep a job and tour with them around the world.

"But you know I can't do that. I'd like to actually keep a job. I don't want to just be living off of my boyfriend."

"I know. I just want you to know you have options."

"I'm sure I can make a friend in London outside of you guys," I assured him.

"I could introduce you - "

"Most of your friends are either famous or people that are way too cool for me," I cut him off.

He laughed. "If they're not too cool for me, then they aren't too cool for you."

"Who said they weren't too cool for you?" I replied, raising my eyebrow.

 

\---

 

"Do we have to have her over?" I whined.

"Katherine wants her and Louis to do something together. They haven't been spotted together in a while," Harry reminded me.

"It's just dinner, love," Louis assured me.

"I think Katherine wants it to look like you two get along," Harry added with a guilty look.

"Have they accepted that the fandom knows you two live together?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"I think they have to. I mean, you can't very well live with a homeless person, can you?" Louis smirked.

I laughed. "I can't believe how hard they tried to keep it a secret."

"It wasn't their best idea of how to keep us closeted, let's be honest."

 

\---

 

"Hey, Eleanor," I greeted her upon answering the door. "Come on in. How are you?"

She frowned slightly. "I'm fine. Where's Louis?"

"He's in the kitchen with Harry," I replied, rolling my eyes at her lack of effort to be polite.

She took off her coat and boots, leaving them by the door before following me into the kitchen. She gasped slightly, seeing the way Louis was hugging Harry from behind as he cooked, whispering in his ear. I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

"Boys, Eleanor is here," I announced.

"Hey, El." Harry turned to smile at her before returning his attention to the sauce he was stirring.

"Anything you need me to do?" I asked, gesturing for Eleanor to sit down at the table. She looked incredibly awkward at the situation, so I walked over and pulled Louis away from Harry, insisting he go set the table. He sent me a small glare before doing as I asked.

"Could you get the bread out? This is almost done and it should just take a few minutes in the oven," Harry told me, gesturing towards the refrigerator where he'd put the garlic bread earlier.

"Of course," I replied, quickly doing as he asked.

"How are you?" Louis asked Eleanor, making an attempt at polite conversation.

"I'm good. The food smells great," she replied with a smile.

I rolled my eyes. Of course she could be polite to the guy she was half in love with even though she'd just walked in on him being all adorable with his boyfriend.

"Harry's chicken fettuccine alfredo is to die for," I commented.

"Pretty much anything he makes is to die for." Louis rolled his eyes with a grin.

"How's school?" I asked Eleanor.

"It's good." Okay, forget being polite to Eleanor.

"How's your mom, Lou?" I asked, knowing he'd been on the phone with her earlier.

"She's pregnant and miserable," he chuckled.

"She's so cute pregnant, though," I insisted.

"Of course she is, but she's huge right now, being pregnant with twins and all," Louis conceded.

"When is she due?" Eleanor asked.

"End of February, but twins are usually early," Louis replied.

"Are you excited to be a big brother again?" she asked, looking at Louis with expectant eyes.

"Yeah, of course," Louis grinned.

"New little ones to spoil!" Harry added with a smile as the buzzer went off for the garlic bread.

"I'll get that," I insisted as Harry started to reach for a pot holder, walking over to quickly pull the garlic bread out of the oven. "Is the sauce done?"

"Yep, all ready to go on the table," Harry replied. I nodded as the two of us quickly moved everything over to the table, circling each other in a way that might be dangerous if we weren't so accustomed to doing this every night.

Eleanor watched us silently as Louis just commented on how good it all looked.

"Lou," I grabbed his arm, tugging him out of his chair. "Sit by El, I'll tweet a picture."

He rolled his eyes. "Okay, whatever," he replied, moving over to sit on the opposite side of the table as I sat next to Harry.

"Smile," I told them, pulling the camera up on my phone and taking a picture of Louis with his arm wrapped around Eleanor.

_Double date night with these two lovelies._

I tweeted with the picture attached before pulling Harry closer to pose for a selfie. He kissed my cheek at the last minute and picture ended up being completely adorable.

_Why kiss the chef when he'll kiss me?_

"Alright, that should keep Katherine happy on my account," I announced. "Let the shipper war begin."

Harry chuckled.

"I don't think we need to worry about the shipper wars," Eleanor snapped. "We're just doing our job."

"It's fun to watch the fandom flip out, though," I told her with a small glare.

"Ladies, let's eat this wonderful meal and enjoy ourselves, yeah?" Louis cut Eleanor off before she could reply but she still glared at me.


	2. A Sleepover

"Liam?" I asked as soon as he picked up the phone.

"Yeah?" he replied, sounding like I'd just woken him up.

"Sorry, did I wake you up?" I grimaced.

"What can I do for you, babe?" he asked instead of answering the question.

"Well, Harry's birthday's tomorrow, so I was going to ask a favor," I started, hesitantly. He didn't interrupt, so I continued, "I was wondering if I could come stay at your place tonight? I mean, if you have plans, I'll ask Niall or -"

"I don't have plans," he cut me off.

"Is that a yes?" I asked when he didn't continue.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll come get you later this afternoon."

"Okay, thanks, Li," I smiled. "I just feel bad being in their space all the time."

"They don't mind, Riley," he assured me. "You know they love having you. But I'm happy to steal you away for the evening."

 

\---

 

"I'm going to Liam's tonight," I informed Harry and Louis after I'd gotten the 'on my way' text from Liam.

"What for?" Louis asked, suspicious.

"Harry's birthday's tomorrow. I'm giving you two alone time," I replied with a grin.

"Aw, you don't have to do that," Harry said with a grin that told me he'd be happy to have Louis to himself for the evening.

"I know, but I want to," I assured them as I heard a knock at the door. "That's probably him."

I went to answer the door.

"Ready?" Liam asked, glancing down at my bag over my shoulder.

"Yep."

"Stealing our girl for the night?" Louis appeared around the corner.

"Only because she asked," Liam replied with a look I couldn't interpret.

"Riiight, well, have fun, love," Louis told me, kissing my cheek.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow. Don't forget to clean anything that I don't want to see or come into contact with," I smirked.

"We'll stay out of the kitchen," Louis nodded with a grin.

 

\---

 

"That's not supposed to be out on DVD yet," I stated, shocked when Liam pulled out Thor: The Dark World for us to watch.

"I might've pulled some strings and got it a month early," he shrugged. "Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, I saw it in theatres. Have you?"

"Of course," he replied. "How do you feel about making it a little more interesting?" he asked, pulling out a bottle of vodka.

I laughed. "A drinking game?"

"Scared?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Never."

 

\---

 

"God, they say 'Thor' a lot," I muttered, taking another drink.

Liam chuckled from next to me. "We've got a ways to go yet. Are you giving up?"

"Never," I insisted, raising my glass to clink against his as we heard 'Thor' again, immediately followed by a news report.

 

\---

 

"Leeeeyuummm," I whined, leaning into his shoulder. "Mooorrrreee."

Liam chuckled. "All gone," he said, tipping the empty bottle of vodka over.

"But - " I gestured wildly at the credits rolling on the screen. "Drink."

"You are kind of adorable when you're drunk," Liam said, his fingers playing through my hair.

I shook my head. "Not drunk," I insisted.

"Why don't you try standing up, then?" he asked.

I nodded, moving away from him to force myself to my feet. The room spun as soon as I'd stood up, causing me to fall right back down into Liam's lap. I giggled.

"You sure you aren't drunk?" Liam smirked, wrapping his arms around me as I leaned back against him, giggling uncontrollably.

 

\---

 

"No, I think you better sleep in here," Liam insisted, pulling me towards the master bedroom.

"Nooooo, not supposed to," I replied, pulling away from him before he grabbed me as I almost fell.

"We're just going to sleep, Riley," he assured me.

"Not allowed to," I mumbled in response as he led me towards the bed.

"It's fine, Riley." He pulled back the blankets to help me into bed.

"I'm hot," I insisted, suddenly changing topics in my drunken state.

"You don't have to get under the covers," he replied, soothingly.

I started pulling at my clothes. Stripping off my shirt and jeans before slipping under the covers, humming at the feel of the Egyptian cotton against my bare skin.

Liam stared down at me for a minute before shuffling off to the bathroom. I fell asleep before he returned.

 

\---

 

I woke up in a bed I didn't know, next to a sleeping figure that I quickly recognized as Liam. I lifted the blanket, quickly checking my state of undress. I wasn't wearing much, but I was pretty sure it was enough to assure me that nothing inappropriate had occurred, despite the fact that his arm was thrown across my middle. My head was pounding.

"Liam," I said, loudly, shaking him awake. "Liam."

He mumbled something unintelligible, pulling his arm away from me.

"Liam, what happened last night?"

His eyes slowly opened with a yawn. "We watched Thor."

"Liam," I demanded.

"Nothing happened," he replied, grinning. "You are an adorable drunk, though," he said, reaching over to brush a stray hair out of my face.

I froze at the touch, surprised at his sudden comfort in touching me. He noticed my reaction and slowly removed his hand, realizing his slip-up.

"Nothing happened," he repeated. "Surely you think better of me than that?"

"We were both drunk, Li. I don't know what to think."

He threw the blanket off of him and climbed out of bed, turning to look at me. I tried hard to focus on his face, unsuccessfully, when I realized he wasn't wearing anything but a pair of black boxers.

"I insisted you sleep in here so I didn't worry about you choking on your own vomit," he told me.

I started to reply, but at the word 'vomit,' I suddenly felt the need to and I threw the blanket off of me, rushing into the bathroom.

He appeared behind me, pulling my hair out of my face as I gagged on what little was left in my stomach as I kneeled at the toilet.

"Sorry," I mumbled, sitting back and reaching for my head as the room spun for a second. I heard the water turn on for a second and then a glass appeared in front of my face. "Thanks."

"Just drink it," Liam replied. I did as he bade and then stumbled to my feet. "I don't think we'll be doing a drinking game again in the near future."

 

\---

 

"You got her drunk?" Louis demanded as soon as we'd arrived home.

"I'm fine, Louis," I insisted, shoving past him to go sit on the couch.

He and Liam had a heated conversation in low voices that I didn't bother to comprehend before I heard a muttered 'I'll talk to you later, Riley' and a slammed door.

"Did he try anything?" Louis asked, sitting down next to me.

"No, Lou," I muttered, confused at the sudden feeling that I wished he had.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, entering the room with a barely visible limp.

"I see you two had fun last night," I muttered. They both blushed, barely. "Happy birthday, Harry."

"Thanks, babe. Did you have fun with Liam?" he asked.

"I did," I assured him. "I don't remember some of it, but, yeah, we had fun."

"Have you taken anything for that hangover?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, Liam gave me something. It's kicking in, slowly," I replied.

"Great influence, that one," Louis muttered.

 

\---

 

_You alright?_

The text came from Liam a few hours later as I was working on making Harry's birthday dinner.

**_I'm fine. Thanks for last night._ **

_Next time, we'll avoid the drinking games ;)_

I chuckled at the text as Louis entered the kitchen.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," I replied, putting my phone away. "Dinner's almost done."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! This one's gonna take a bit before she actually gets into a relationship with Liam, just because she's pretty much in love with Harry/Louis and hasn't realized Liam likes her or that she might like him back. It's coming, though, I promise!  
> Kudos/comments appreciated! I hope you're enjoying it so far!


	3. A Dinner

"We're having the boys over for dinner tonight," Louis informed me at breakfast.

"Okay, am I still welcome?" I asked with a teasing lilt.

"Of course, love," Louis assured me with a roll of his eyes. "They know you've moved in; they're expecting you to be here."

"Wouldn't want to intrude on band time, that's all."

"We've got a few things to discuss, but it's mostly just a little time to catch up before rehearsals start up."

"Who's cooking? Or are we ordering in?" I asked.

"Harry's making something. I don't remember what he said, but he's supposed to be getting everything before he gets back this afternoon," Louis replied. Harry had left early for a meeting, while Louis and I were free for the day.

"Alright, well, I'm supposed to be meeting up with Michelle to do a little shopping this afternoon, but I'll probably be home shortly after Harry."

"When do I get to meet the elusive Michelle?" Louis asked. Michelle wasn't aware of the entire situation, obviously, since I'd only known her a few weeks, and I wasn't sure how much she'd figure out from our living arrangements.

"We could go out this weekend?" I asked. "I could bring her along and you two could get the guys to come, too."

"Yeah, I'll see what Harry thinks. Run it by Michelle while you're out today."

"I'll see what she says."

 

\---

 

"How do you feel about a night out with some famous boybanders?" I asked Michelle as we perused a rack of blouses.

"I could be down with that," she replied with a grin. "When?"

"This weekend? Probably Friday night."

"Count me in," she said, appearing excited at the prospect of meeting the rest of One Direction.

 

\---

 

"Welcome, welcome," I answered the door to Liam and Niall. "Come in, come in."

"Something smells good," Niall commented as he and Liam took their coats off in the entryway.

"Harry's making popovers," I grinned as Niall dramatically sniffed the air.

"How are you?" Liam asked me as we made our way into the living room.

"I'm good," I smiled at him. "You?"

"I'm great."

"Has Louis talked to either of you about this weekend?" I asked.

"What's this weekend?" Niall replied.

"Well, I have this friend, and, well, she isn't really privy to the entire situation of the me and Harry and Louis dynamic. Louis wants to meet her, though, so we were thinking we'd get a group together to go out?"

"Yeah, I'm in," Niall nodded. "Sounds like a good time. Is she pretty?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Niall. She's very pretty."

"Not as pretty as you, I'm sure," Liam muttered into my ear before speaking up. "I'm game."

I blushed at his comment, looking away from him to Niall. "Good, we'll figure out a game plan and let you guys know then."

 

\---

 

We gathered around the table once Zayn had arrived. The food was delicious, of course, and the topic somehow turned to a drinking game. Liam looked over at me with raised eyebrows, knowing how the last time had turned out.

"I'm game, but no vodka," I said, quirking an eyebrow at Liam.

"She definitely can't handle her vodka," Liam chuckled.

Louis slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "You shouldn't have been trying to get her drunk."

"Says the one who just proposed 'Never Have I Ever' as a suitable drinking game," Liam replied.

"Never have I ever been in a boyband," I said, quickly pouring wine into each of our glasses to start the game.

"This is weak stuff, Riley," Niall complained, taking a drink.

"I'm not Irish, Niall, I can't hold my alcohol like you," I insisted. "Feel free to grab the vodka out of the fridge."

He shrugged and walked over to the fridge, pulling out the vodka and tequila before returning to the table. "I'll finish this one first," he shrugged, gesturing at his glass.

"Never have I ever kissed Harry," Liam said, shooting me a challenging look.

I took my drink, but almost spit it out when I realized that Zayn and Niall were both drinking with Louis and I. "What?!" I exclaimed.

"Things happen," Niall mumbled.

"Were you drunk?" I asked, looking at Zayn.

"A bit, yeah," he replied.

"Never have I ever had a one night stand," Louis stated. We all watched as Zayn and Niall took a drink.

"Never, Riley?" Harry asked me, surprised.

"Excuse me?" I replied, slightly offended.

"Well, I mean, you've been stuck with me. I figured that was an easy out," Harry said, staring at the table as he realized his mistake.

"I'm more of a relationship-girl," I informed them.

"Except you aren't allowed to be with anyone other than Harry by contract, right?" Zayn asked.

I nodded, glancing at Liam before avoiding eye contact with all of them.

"Never have I ever dyed my hair," Harry said, breaking the awkward moment as Zayn, Niall, and I drank.

"Never have I ever had sex outside," Niall said.

Louis and Harry drank.

"Never have I ever had sex against a washing machine," Zayn said.

I glared at Louis and Harry as they shot me guilty looks as they drank.

"I swear we cleaned afterwards," Harry muttered in my direction.

"Okay, if we're going dirty: Never have I ever had sex in a dressing room," I said. All five boys drank as I laughed. "Seriously? All of you?"

"Groupies are a thing," Niall muttered.

"Mine was not a groupie," Liam insisted. "Never have I ever taken part in a threesome."

Zayn was the only one to drink and we all stared him down for an explanation.

"Nope. Not talking about it," he said.

"Never have I ever got someone drunk just to have sex with them," Louis said, shooting a look at Liam.

No one drank, but Liam just glared at Louis.

"Never have I ever cheated," Harry said, shooting Louis an apologetic look. Louis and Zayn drank.

I stared in shock between Harry and Louis. "Not on Harry, love," Louis assured me after noticing my look. "Never on him."

"It was with me. He had a girlfriend at the start of X Factor," Harry explained.

"Never have I ever had sex on an airplane," Niall stated.

All of the other boys drank.

"You don't seem very experienced," Liam commented in my direction.

I shrugged. "Is that really a bad thing?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Never have I ever had anal sex," Zayn said.

They all stared in shock as I drank with Louis and Harry. I rolled my eyes.

"Never have I ever made a sex tape," I said.

Louis and Harry drank.

"What?!" I exclaimed. "No. You didn't. Oh my god."

They both just grinned.

"That has got to be worth such a ridiculous amount of money," I said.

"It's locked away, love. Don't worry," Louis said.

"Worry? I kinda wanna see it."

All the boys turned to me, shocked.

I blushed. "I mean - Never mind."

"Never have I ever asked to see someone's sex tape," Liam smirked. I drank, shaking my head in embarrassment.

"Never have I ever given or received a blowjob while driving," Louis said.

Liam, Zayn, and I drank.

"Riley!" Louis acted all shocked. I just shrugged with a small grin, blushing as Liam stared at me in surprise.

"Never have I ever lied about being a virgin," Harry said.

I was the only one to drink and they all looked scandalized.

"It was only once," I insisted.

"Never have I ever woken up to someone giving me head," Niall said.

Louis and Harry both drank.

"Never have I ever been engaged," I said.

Zayn drank with a roll of his eyes.

"Never have I ever been in love with someone and not told them," Zayn said, shooting a pointed look in Liam's direction.

Liam was the only one to drink.

"Never have I ever gotten drunk watching a Marvel film," Harry said.

Liam and I clinked our glasses before taking a drink.

"Never have I ever walked in on Louis and Harry doing it," I stated.

Zayn, Liam, and Niall all drank with a grimace.

"Never have I ever slept with someone famous," Liam said.

"Slept or had sex with?" I asked.

"Riley!" Niall exclaimed.

"It's a valid question," I insisted.

Liam chuckled. "Slept."

I drank.

"What?" Zayn exclaimed. "Who?"

"Most recently?" I asked. "Liam. But I've slept with Harry and Louis before, too."

Louis and Harry both shrugged. "We live together."

"Never have I ever let someone sleep with me half-naked and not made a move," I said, staring at Liam with a raised eyebrow.

Liam drank.

All the boys were glancing back and forth between us, unsure what was happening. Louis finally broke the tension.

"I think it's about time we ended this game," he announced.

The group awkwardly dispersed, taking dishes to the sink, leaving Liam and I still at the table.

"Are you saying you wanted me to make a move?" he asked in a low voice.

"I don't know," I admitted.

He stared into my eyes for a minute before shaking his head and moving to take his plate to the sink.

 

\---

 

"I'll text you about Friday night?" I asked Liam at the door.

"Yeah, I'll see you then," he nodded, pausing his hand halfway to reaching for my face. I swept the hair out of my face so he wouldn't, looking down.

"I'll talk to you later," I said and he disappeared out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I appreciate kudos/comments immensely.
> 
> Updates will be every Tuesday from now on!


	4. A Night Out

"Michelle, this is Niall, Liam, Louis, and you already met Harry," I introduced her to the group. Zayn hadn't ended up coming because Perrie had unexpectedly showed up.

Michelle grinned. "Nice to meet you."

"I'll grab drinks, anyone picky?" Niall asked, ready to make his way over to the bar.

"No beer," I shrugged.

"Yeah, no beer for me either, but whatever's fine," Michelle assured him with a grin.

Niall and Harry made their way over to the bar, leaving us with Liam and Louis, who seemed to be giving each other looks that I couldn't interpret.

"Riley, how was work?" Liam asked after an awkward few seconds of silence.

I smiled. "Good. We're starting a bit of an afternoon children's reading time on Fridays, so I get to see all of the adorable kiddos come in."

"Oh? What was today's reading?" Liam asked, as if we were discussing a college course.

"Madeline," I replied. "They seemed to like it."

"You have a lot of kids show up?" Louis asked.

"We had about a dozen today, I think."

 

\---

 

"Are you sure you should be having that?" Liam asked, pointing at the latest drink Niall had put in front of me.

"Why?" I asked, taking a sip.

"You don't handle vodka well, if I remember," Liam muttered into my ear.

"We're having fun, Liam," I insisted.

"I just don't want you going overboard."

"I'm out with four guys that I know, love, and trust," I shrugged and he froze for a second, giving me a heated look. "They'll get me home in one piece."

 

\---

 

"Wheerrres Harryyy?" I asked, words slurring together. Niall had kept a drink in front of me all night and I wasn't sure how much I had actually drank at this point. I was still able to walk in a semi-straight line, but that wasn't a lot to brag about in my condition.

"Dancing," Michelle replied.

"Come and dance with us, Riley!" Liam insisted, tugging my hand until I'd stood and followed him to the dance floor. The boys had been getting a fair amount of attention all night, but it was nothing compared to the eyes that were drawn to the dance floor as four members of One Direction danced around me. They were all a little tipsy and their inhibitions were definitely lowered as they grinded against me and each other to the music. Michelle had been drinking, I thought, but she seemed to frown at us from across the room as we continued to dance and sing (horribly) to the music.

 

\---

 

"Oh my word," I exclaimed upon waking up. "What happened last night?"

I was asleep on the couch, still in last night's dress; Niall was slouched over in an armchair, wearing only a pair of boxers, it appeared; and Liam was on the floor next to me, still fully dressed, including his shoes. Louis and Harry had apparently made it into their own room, I assumed.

"Ssshhhhh," Niall hushed me with a wave of his hand, adjusting his position and then falling back to sleep.

"Liam?" I asked, leaning over to shake him slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes and squinted up at me with a mumbled, "Riley, what're you doing here?"

"I live here," I reminded him with a raised eyebrow.

"What am I doing here?" he questioned in his barely awake state.

"I'll go start some tea," I said, standing up and wandering towards the kitchen to quickly take something for my aching head and put the tea kettle on. I glanced back into the living room to see that Niall and Liam still weren't moving before wandering back to Louis and Harry's room to check on them.

I should've known, with Niall having been practically nude, that Louis and Harry would give me an eyeful, but I still gasped and blushed upon entering their room.

 

\---

 

"What's the deal with Liam?" Michelle asked over lunch.

"What d'you mean?" I asked.

"He couldn't keep his eyes off of you the other night," she replied with raised eyebrows.

I shook my head. "Whatever, no, he didn't."

"He got kind of handsy when you were dancing, too. I was surprised Harry didn't say anything."

"They're best friends," I assured her. "Liam wouldn't make a move on me and Harry knows it."

No matter how much I want him to, I thought. Wait, when did I start wanting Liam to make a move?

"They must trust each other an awful lot," she shrugged, still looking at me skeptically.

 

\---

 

"You've got to come to Modest! with us today," Louis told me.

"What for?" I asked around a mouthful of Cheerios.

"Katherine wants to speak with you. She's requested your presence," Harry replied, rolling his eyes.

 

\---

 

"Riley! What're you doing here?" Liam asked, greeting me with a brief hug.

"Katherine told us to bring her for the meeting," Louis informed him, glaring down at Liam's hand that had remained on my arm until Liam pulled it away.

"What does Katherine want to talk to her about?" Niall joined our little group in the hallway.

"I thought this was a meeting about how to behave on tour," Liam said, confused.

 

\---

 

"While I've got all of you here, I wanted to remind you all," Katherine started, eyeing me and Liam more than the other three boys in the room. "That Riley isn't to be dating anyone other than Harry. She's signed a contract and breaking that contract could be detrimental to both herself, Harry, Louis, and any boy involved."

I could practically hear Liam gulp nervously from across the table. I bit my tongue so I wouldn't roll my eyes as Louis made eye contact with me and winked.

"This contract is for the good of your careers," she reminded them, looking at the room as a whole again. "Riley is here so that Harry and Louis won't be suspected of anything which might cause our key demographic to cease buying albums and concert tickets."

I coughed and everyone looked at me.

"Something to say, Riley?" Katherine glared at me.

I shook my head. "Something in my throat."

"Eleanor hasn't presented a problem with her contract, but I wanted to make sure that everyone was clear on this matter."

"Crystal," Louis replied as the other boys and myself nodded.

 

\---

 

"Liam? Did you wanna grab lunch with us?" I asked, referring to Louis, Harry, and myself.

"No, I've got, uh, I can't," he mumbled, rushing off.

"What was that?" I muttered, turning to Harry.

"Katherine's probably got him freaked," Harry replied.

"I don't understand how she suspects something suddenly," Louis commented. "It doesn't make any sense. All those pictures from the club were of all of us dancing with you."

"Yeah, I don't know. It's weird," I nodded. "She really seemed to be eyeing me and Liam during that lecture."

"Is there anything going on with you and Liam?" Harry asked in a low voice.

I blushed. "No, no, there's not," I assured them.

"Would you like there to be?" Louis quirked a knowing eyebrow at me.

"Maybe," I mumbled, turning to hide my face in Harry's shoulder.

"Aw, babe," Harry sighed.

"That does make things a bit complicated," Louis conceded.

"I don't even know if he like me, anyway."

"Liking you isn't in question," Louis muttered. "Deserving you is a whole other ball game."

I gave him a confused look.

"I don't want you rushing into something," Louis added.

"We don't want you getting hurt, love," Harry assured me with a squeeze to my shoulder.

"I don't know that it's worth risking the wrath of Katherine," I shrugged, staring at the ground.

"Well, we'll just have to figure that out," Louis murmured, opening the restaurant door for me.

 

\---

 

"I think you should come to South America with us," Harry told me while we were waiting on our food.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't you want to see South America?" Louis asked.

"I don't want to be in the way," I reasoned. "Besides, whenever I'm not there, isn't it easier to sneak off together?"

"You aren't in the way, love," Louis assured me.

"And we can get away with a lot more when you're the one staying in my room every night," Harry added.

"If you really want me to - "

"We do," Harry cut me off. "You don't have to follow us all over the place, but we hate to leave you in London all the time."

I shrugged. "I'm fine in London. I'm getting used to it."

"All of your friends are going to be on tour, though," Louis reminded me.

"Not all of them," I insisted, trying to think of people I knew in London that weren't directly involved in One Direction's tour. "Michelle will be here. And that girl I work with. And - okay, so I don't have friends, but I'm kind of a loner, anyways," I assured them.

"We'll call every night when we're away," Louis replied with a smile. "Can't leave our favorite girl to her own devices."

I rolled my eyes. "I'll be fine."

"But you'll come to South America with us," Harry insisted.

"Yeah, okay, I'll see what my boss says."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My concert is tonight!!!!! I'm soooo excited!
> 
> Anywho, thanks for reading and I appreciate comments/kudos.
> 
> Updates are on Tuesdays!


	5. A Confrontation

For nearly a week, I had tried texting him, calling him, sending him messages through Harry. Nothing. He went from being a sort-of friend, total crush to being non-existent in my life. Even my bribe of homemade cookies couldn't get a response.

"He won't text me back," I grumbled over my Cocoa Puffs.

"I'm sure he's just - busy," Louis assured me with a slightly panicked look shot towards Harry.

"He's on the same rehearsal schedule as you two," I said with a skeptical look.

"Well, he just, uh," Louis stumbled over his words, trying to make an excuse. He paused, avoided Harry's eyes and continued: "He's being stupid - "

"He just got a lecture to stay away from you," Harry interrupted, glaring at Louis.

"Texting me is staying away from me. It's not like I've shown up at his door or something."

"Give him time," Harry insisted.

"Or dump him before he actually breaks your heart," Louis mumbled, ignoring Harry's glare.

 

\---

 

"Oh, I thought you had to work tonight," Louis loudly said to me as he came in the door.

I gave him a confused look. "No." I never work on Tuesdays, you know that.

"We told the boys it'd just be us tonight, but I'm sure they'll be fine with you joining us," Harry added with a look that was trying to tell me something but I was completely lost until Liam walked through the door and froze at the sight of me, causing Zayn to run into him from behind.

"Hey, Liam," I said with an awkward little wave. Why the hell did I just wave? "I guess the boys got my work schedule confused." Zayn had shoved past him and into the kitchen with Harry, while Louis was still standing there watching the two of us.

"Louis, can you show me where you put that ice cream, love?" Harry called from the kitchen.

"It's in the freezer, Haz," Louis replied, refusing to leave his post in the living room between Liam and I.

"Can you come here for a sec?" Harry tried again.

Louis shot Liam a predatory glare before shuffling off to the kitchen to join his boyfriend and Zayn.

"Gonna tell me why you've been avoiding me?" I asked in a low voice.

"I haven't," Liam shook his head, throwing a nervous glance towards the kitchen.

"Are you seriously afraid of Katherine?"

"Riley, this is my career - "

I shook my head. "Never mind, Louis's right. This isn't worth it," I said before striding back to my room, closing the door swiftly behind me. Follow me. Follow me. Please. He didn't follow, but I heard some harsh words being exchanged at a loud volume in the kitchen.

"Did you seriously just pull the career card?"

"I didn't - "

"No, I can't believe you would pull that shit, Li."

"After all the shit that we've gone through for our relationship and the band, you don't think we'd protect you?"

"She doesn't - "

"You don't deserve her."

"I just - "

"No, Li, this is absurd. You need to get your shit together and figure out what you want before you drag her feelings through anything else."

"He's right, Liam."

I heard a door slam and then a hesitant knock at my door a few moments later.

"Come in," I called from my place on the bed.

Thankfully, it was only Harry. He entered and shut the door behind him before coming to sit next to me.

"You hear that?" he asked.

"Is Zayn still here?"

"Yeah, he's helping Louis scoop ice cream. We were hoping you'd join us in the other room for a movie."

I looked over at him, hesitant. "Is Liam okay?"

Harry gave me a confused look.

"Three of his best mates just took a girl's side over his," I mumbled.

"This isn't about taking sides, Ri."

"They didn't have to do that," I insisted. "I would've been fine letting you guys have your fun for the evening without me."

"We only got him to come because Louis wanted to see what he'd say to you."

"He's been avoiding me. What did Lou expect?"

"He's a bit over-protective of people he loves. He wants Liam to step it up or let it go and not keep you hanging like this. It's not fair to you." Harry wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"You shouldn't be fighting with him just because of me," I mumbled, staring down at my hands.

"Hey," Harry squeezed my shoulder. "We just want what's best for you."

I nodded, silently, still staring down.

"Besides," Harry added, reaching over to lift my chin up so I was looking at him. "This could be just the kick in the pants he needs." He smiled.

 

\---

 

_Hey_

The text arrived in the middle of my shift at the bookstore and I stared at it for at least five minutes until a customer called me over with a question. Ten minutes (and a small rant over the benefits of a child reading Harry Potter) later, I returned to my phone, took a deep breath and responded.

**_Long time no talk._ **

_Sorry :(_

**_I heard them yelling at you last nite._ **

_I'm an idiot. K got into my head._

_I wasn't thinking it all through._

**_We can just be friends_ **

**_If that's what you want._ **

I held my breath, waiting for the response to that one. Distractedly I rang up a customer, misread her total, laughed it off and thanked her as she left the store, all while tuned into the sound of my phone buzzing with incoming texts.

_I'm not sure what I want_

_But I'd like to get to know you better_

_Take things slow_

**_I just don't want you to shut me out again._ **

_I won't_

_**And you're gonna have to deal with Lou** _

_**He's a bit overprotective** _

_I noticed_

 

\---

 

"Liam's talking to me again," I informed Harry as we were cooking dinner.

"Oh?"

"He says he doesn't know what he wants," I continued.

"Are you okay with that?" Harry asked, glancing hesitantly towards the kitchen door, knowing that Louis wouldn't be okay with that.

"I think we're just gonna take things slow," I said, shooting a glance towards the door before adding in a hushed voice: "I told him he'd have to deal with Lou."

Harry chuckled. "I think you two just need to get to know each other a bit more. I can convince Lou to invite him over for dinner this weekend, if you'd like."

"So you two can grill him?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Oh, wait, you'll do that at rehearsals."

Harry grinned, not denying it. "We can invite all the guys and just make sure you two get to know each other a bit better. You don't need to be conversing solely via text."

"It's not like I haven't spent time with him without you two," I reminded him. "I have stayed over at his house."

"And Liam will never hear the end of it if Liam invites you for a sleepover again before being clear about his intentions." Harry quirked an eyebrow at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, yeah. It's not like he'd try anything. But, dinner this weekend, yeah."

 

\---

 

"Hey, pretty lady," Liam answered the phone, I could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hey," I replied, thankful he couldn't see the blush rising to my cheeks. "Harry wants you to come over for dinner this weekend. I'm not sure if he's inviting just you or what, but he's trying to give us time to get to know each other better."

"Supervised visitation," Liam chuckled.

"Something like that," I muttered. "He's trying to get Lou on board."

"With dinner? Or with our relationship?"

"Both? I wouldn't call this a relationship in front of him, though, until you've actually committed to the term."

"If I pass this test, I can steal you for a date next weekend?" he asked.

"Way to avoid the terminology question."

"Okay, I know I said I don't know what I want," he replied with a sigh. "But I'd still like to take you out and see how it goes, if that's alright with you."

"Liam - "

"It's one date. It won't ruin our friendship."

"It could."

"Well, I don't know if I can handle being just friends with you," he sighed.

"You just told me you wanted to take things slow."

"Absolutely. We'll take things slow. We can call it a friend date, if you want. We won't hold hands or anything. Just hang out and have a good time. As long as you let me pay."

"You are the millionaire," I grumbled.

"And I'll be on my best behavior with Lou."

"And Harry," I added. "He's more supportive of this, but he's still skeptical of this whole thing."

"And Harry," Liam assured me. "They're my best mates. It'll be fine."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: "An Interrogation"
> 
> I'm working on Chapter 8 of this fic right now, so I'm not far enough ahead to feel comfortable posting twice a week yet, but once I get a good ways ahead of my posts, I totally will. So, updates will continue to be every Tuesday.
> 
> 'Something Unconventional' updates every Sunday & Thursday  
> 'Just a Modest! Relationship' updates at random, to be honest, but usually every few days. It's my friend's fic and I'm writing some smutty bits for it haha, but I'd appreciate it if you went and checked it out and let us know what you think.
> 
> Okay, end of long author's note.  
> Thanks for reading/commenting/kudos-ing! :)


	6. An Interrogation

"Be nice," I ordered Louis as he went to answer the door.

"It'll be fine," Harry assured me.

"We're just trying to see where things are without it getting weird."

"You've invited him over to meet your two best friends for their approval despite the fact that he's also their best friend," Harry reminded me.

"OKAY, so things are weird already," I grimaced.

Harry chuckled slightly. "No worries, babe."

"Hey, Riley. Harry," Liam greeted us as he entered the kitchen. "Something smells good."

"We're making spaghetti," I grinned.

"And garlic bread," Harry added as the oven's buzzer went off.

"Do you cook, Liam?" Louis asked with a skeptical eyebrow.

Liam shot him a weird look. "Not much. As you know," he dragged out the last word as he debated making it a question.

"Grab a seat," I gestured towards the table. "It'll be ready in a second." I shot Louis a 'back-off' look behind Liam's back.

"How's the bookstore?" Liam asked me after a few moments of Harry and I circling each other as we finished the food and set the table around Liam and Louis, who were already seated.

"Good," I replied, knowing he was just trying to come up with something to say. We'd been texting daily; he already knew about my angry customer this afternoon and the lost little girl on Wednesday. "Rehearsals?"

"Great."

"Better if this one would stop goofing off," Louis muttered, pointing a teasing thumb at Harry.

"I am not," Harry insisted. "I'm making it more interesting."

"It's just because they aren't allowed to touch each other for hours on end," Liam faux-whispered in my direction with a grin as I sat the garlic bread on the table.

"The woes of being a closeted member of a boy band," I sighed, dramatically taking my place at the table.

"Let's eat," Harry announced, bringing the last of the food over.

"How did you manage to get two people who can cook to move in with you?" Liam asked Louis as he started to fix his plate.

"I'd like to say it was luck, dear Liam, but it takes a bit of effort to make chefs fall in love with you," Louis sighed.

"It was all luck."

"In a past lifetime, Louis was the one who could cook. I'm making up for it this round," Harry laughed.

 

\---

 

"Is this a practice round for when you have a daughter to scare boys - or girls - away from?" I demanded after another stupid question thrown Liam's way.

Liam chuckled. "It's fine, babe."

"Babe? Getting quite familiar now, are we?" Louis immediately shot back with a smirk on his face.

"No, I call most girls that," Liam assured him.

"Oh, so you're a player," Louis insisted. He and Liam seemed to be having a stare-off.

"Absolutely not. Relationship guy through and through."

"But you aren't ready to commit to our dear Riley here?"

"I don't want to rush into anything."

"You've known her for months, what's the rush?"

"I may have liked her for months, but she took a bit longer to convince."

"Her disinterest didn't give you a clue?"

"Well, she's kind of living with this couple and isn't really allowed to let her eyes be wandering, despite the fact that she's technically single."

"Sounds complicated. Are you sure you're ready for that?"

"Absolutely. What's life without a little complication?"

"Oh my word, boys," I exclaimed. "Please stop," I begged, letting my hands collapse on the table in a frustrated movement. "You're being ridiculous."

"Overprotective," Harry mumbled from across the table from me.

"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" Louis asked, pretending he hadn't heard Harry or me.

I reached over and covered Liam's mouth with my hand. "You aren't answering that. You don't need to answer that," I told him. "Besides," I looked towards Louis. "Aren't you in charge of dessert this evening?"

Harry immediately stood and pulled Louis over towards the fridge.

Liam reached up and removed my hand, slowly, looking at me. "He's just riling you on now, you know?" he whispered, looking at me with a tinge of worry.

"Yeah, but - I mean, I love them and all, but if I weren't under contract, this wouldn't be their decision so much," I whispered back.

"They're your best friends. They're a part of any decision you make now," he reminded me.

I sighed. "Yeah, I guess."

"I'm their best mate, too, you know. I really doubt they'd disapprove."

I glanced over to see Louis and Harry having a hushed conversation as they gathered bowls, spoons, and toppings for our ice cream.

"Louis's just - "

"A bit jealous."

I squinted at him, confused. "Huh?"

"He's overprotective, yes, but he and Harry got all of your attention before and now you've started giving other people, me being chief among them, more attention. And he's getting jealous. He'd never admit it, of course," Liam chuckled.

"Ice cream sundaes for dessert. No cooking required," Louis grinned, bringing everything over to the table with Harry.

"This is definitely how I cook," Liam chuckled.

Louis nodded and grinned in his direction. "No risk of burning anything."

 

\---

 

"I had a good time," Liam said as I walked him to the door.

I grinned. "I'm glad. It got a lot less weird and much easier after dessert came out."

"After Harry gave Lou a talking-to you mean?" Liam smirked.

I rolled my eyes. "Probably."

"Still on for next weekend?"

"Friend date? Absolutely."

"Alright, well," he said, leaning down to hug me. "I'll talk to you later."

"Text me when you get home, alright?"

He grinned. "Will do. Goodnight, babe."

"Night."

 

\---

 

"Have you decided that you approve?" I asked the boys with a slight glare upon returning to the kitchen where they were doing dishes.

"Riley - "

"Seriously, Louis?"

He glanced at Harry, slightly nervous, before looking back over at me. "He's our best mate, we never would've disapproved. We just wanted to be sure that you were sure."

"You two are ridiculous," I rolled my eyes.

"I don't like that he's taking you out on date next weekend," Harry added. "Without it being a 'real' date."

"We haven't spent that much time alone together," I reminded him.

"Why do you have to call it a date?"

"I don't know. It's a friend date." I shrugged. "I used to have friend dates all the time with my girl friends, what's the problem?"

"He doesn't want to just be friends," Louis stated.

"He isn't sure what he wants - "

"No, he's sure. He just doesn't want to rush you into anything and put your contract at risk if you aren't sure. I think he's sure," Louis insisted.

"He's the one that shut me out for a week just because of the lecture from Katherine," I reminded him.

"Yeah, but since we told him to get his shit together," Louis replied. "He's accepted what he wants."

I stared at my feet, trying to process what he was telling me.

"Just go on this 'friend date' next weekend and see how it goes. If you still aren't sure, he won't rush you, but if you are then I'd make it clear to him," Harry assured me.

 

\---

 

_What are you up to this morning?_

**_Cartoons._ **

_Saturday morning cartoons? Seriously?_

**_Yes?_ **

**_The three of us do this almost every Saturday._ **

_You work today?_

**_Yeah, all afternoon/evening._ **

**_What are you up to today?_ **

_A bit of shopping. Going out with Andy tonight._

**_Don't let him convince you to do anything stupid. ;)_ **

_As if. He's the one on the prowl._

**_The 'prowl'? Really?_ **

_Well, I'm obviously not._

**_Obviously?_ **

_:D_

**_I'll be sure to check Twitter for pictures tonight. Haha. ;)_ **

_Checking up on me?_

**_Who says I'm not checking up on Andy?_ **

**_He's the one likely to get himself in trouble._ **

 

\---

 

**_Andy was looking fit last night._ **

_O?_

**_It was amazing, I couldn't find any pictures of you…_ **

_Riiiight_

_How was your night out with H?_

**_Oh, twitter stalking me now?_ **

_As if you weren't stalking me?_

**_I told you I'd be checking. ;)_ **

**_And late night dessert was delicious. I never say no to ice cream._ **

_Especially when it’s a chance for publicity? ;)_

**_Well, yeah. But my ice cream cone was delicious._ **

 

\---

 

_Harry's been telling knock knock jokes all day._

**_I might've brought him the new book from the store?_ **

_It's your fault? Ughhh_

**_It's not that bad._ **

_He's ceased speaking to anyone until they will answer his 'knock knock' with a 'whose there?'_

**_Okay, he likes to get a bit carried away._ **

_A bit._

 

\---

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: "The 'Friend' Date"; "A Late Night"
> 
> Comments/kudos appreciated :)


	7. The 'Friend' Date

"Wait, should I be dressing like this is a date or like this is a regular outing with a friend?" I asked, shuffling frantically through my closet.

"Somewhere in between," Harry suggested. "Cute but casual."

"Jeans?" I asked.

"Skinnies to show of your legs," Harry clarified.

I nodded, tossing a few pairs of dark skinnies towards the bed where he was sitting. "T-shirt?"

"Fitted and a color that'll bring out your eyes," Harry recommended.

A dozen shirts were pulled from the closet and tossed towards my bed. "This isn't too casual?"

"It's not a real date," he reminded me. "And it sounds like it'll be pretty casual. I think he'd warn you if he was taking you to a nice restaurant or something."

I absentmindedly nodded as I picked through the clothes I'd thrown on the bed, matching and rematching.

"What time is he supposed to be here?" Harry asked, pointing out the skinnies he thought I should wear (the darkest blue ones).

"Six." I held up a maroon v-neck and a turquoise v-neck with a questioning eyebrow.

"Turquoise."

I walked over to the bathroom to change, not bothering to shut the door so I could continue talking to him. "What are you and Lou doing tonight? You've got the place to yourselves for a while," I reminded him.

"We're going out, actually," he informed me. "Just to dinner, I think."

 

\---

 

"Have fun tonight," Louis told me with a quick hug. "Don't rush anything."

"He's here," Harry announced from the front door.

"Coming," I replied, giving myself a quick onceover in the mirror before striding towards the entryway.

"Yeah, we're going out for dinner," Harry was telling Liam at the door.

"Good, you guys deserve a date night," Liam replied with a grin.

"Hey, Liam," I greeted him with a smile.

He turned towards me with a grin, eyes taking me in from my oversized charcoal grey beanie down to my boots. "Hey, yourself. You ready?"

"Absolutely," I grinned back. "I'll see you guys later," I told Louis and Harry.

"Probably in the morning," Harry replied. He was giving Louis a look that made me blush and I turned back to see that Liam was blushing slightly as well.

"Let's go," I said, gesturing for him to lead the way out the door.

He nodded and turned, leading me out the door and down the sidewalk to his car.

"So where are you taking me?" I asked, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Well, have you been to Forbidden Planet?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No, what is it?"

"A bookstore of sorts. I think you'll love it."

I raised my eyebrows, unsure what to expect. "Okay."

 

\---

 

"Whoa, this place is awesome," I exclaimed as soon as we'd made it inside.

"You seemed like the type to appreciate it," he grinned. The place was floor to ceiling, wall-to-wall full of almost anything a geek could want.

"How do you know about this place?" I asked, moving towards a random shelf to start looking.

 

"How are you British and not a fan of Doctor Who?"

"I didn't say I didn't like it!"

"That's not the same as liking it."

"Well, I've never really sat down and watched it much."

"We're going to have to change that."

 

"You've never seen X-Men?"

"No," I admitted. "I've never gotten around to it."

"Well, that'll be our next movie night."

"No, we're watching Who next."

"That's like a day-long or more marathon."

"It's only fifty years of television to catch up on. I won't make you suffer through Classic unless you like New Who, if that makes you feel better."

"X-Men would take less than a day," he pouted.

 

An hour later and we were leaving the store with a couple comic books each, an Iron Man mask for Liam, and a TARDIS messenger bag for myself.

"Thanks," I told him again.

He nodded. "Ready for dinner or are you hungry yet?" Liam asked.

"I could eat," I assured him.

"Okay, I figured we'd just walk around until we saw a place that struck our fancy," Liam proposed.

I shrugged. "Sounds good to me."

He'd been really sweet all night, riding the line between this being a date and us just being friends. He kept thinking about reaching out to grab my hand, I could tell because he'd almost reached for it twice that I noticed before letting it fall to his side or moving to point at something instead. I figured walking around, I'd find a way to make this a little less awkward. I mean, we were walking together, so slipping my hand into the crook of his elbow so that we didn't loose each other was a total valid thing to do, right?

"What're you in the mood for?" he asked, grinning down at my hand for a second before looking up at me.

"I don't know. Food. That's about as far as my brain is thinking at the moment." Because I'm too focused on making sure you know I'm interested while keeping this as a friends thing.

Liam chuckled. "If you wanted to be awful and have just sweets for dinner, I know there's a really good bakery up here."

"Seriously? That sounds awesome." I grinned.

"Hotel Chocolate it is."

"Hotel Chocolate? Seriously?"

Liam nodded.

"That sounds kinky as heck," I gave him a look.

"It's a bakery. It's good," he laughed. "It totally sounds like it's out of a porno if you're dirty minded." He gave me a look.

"I never said I wasn't," I insisted, holding back a grin.

 

"How am I supposed to choose?" I asked, eyeing the display case in front of us.

Liam chuckled. "Can we just get one of everything?" he asked the girl behind the counter.

She nodded, slightly surprised. "Did you want drinks, too?"

I studied the menu for a moment. "Salted Caramel Chocolate," I ordered.

"Coffee Chocolate," Liam said.

"If you want to sit down, I'll bring it all out to you," the girl assured us.

"Thanks," Liam said, his hand settling on my lower back as he led me over to a table in the corner.

"Away from prying eyes?" I mumbled.

"Can't be too careful," he replied, settling into the seat next to me.

"I can't believe you just got one of everything. There's no way we're going to be able to eat all of that."

"This is our dinner, though, remember?" he reminded me. "Besides, I'm sure they'll let us take whatever we don't eat home with us."

I shook my head. "This is insane," I smiled.

He leaned in to nudge my shoulder with his own. "Everyone needs a little crazy in their life."

 

"You two make a really cute couple," the girl told us as she brought the second round of plates over to our table.

Liam glanced over at me. "We're not - "

"Thank you," I grinned at him.

 

"Try this one," I said, holding my fork up to his mouth. Somewhere along the way we'd started feeding each other what we thought was good. It was definitely pushing the 'friends' thing, considering I kept making eye contact with him as I licked his fork clean.

"Wait, which one is that?" he asked after swallowing around an obscene sound of pleasure.

I bit my lip, pointing towards the offending brownie-cheesecake-looking dessert. He reached over and got another bite of it.

"I think it's my favorite," he said with a grin.

"No way, what about the chocolate cake over there," I insisted, pointing towards a plate on his side of the table. "That was ridiculously moist and chocolatey and perfect."

"We haven't even tried those," he reminded me, pointing towards two plates that hadn't been touched. I reached over to get a bite off of one of them, quickly popping it into my mouth.

"Oh my god," I moaned around the chocolate-peanut-butter taste that filled my mouth. My eyes closed for a second, savoring the burst of flavor in my mouth before swallowing. "You've got to try that," I said, opening my eyes to look over at him. He was staring at my lips as I licked them off and then up into my eyes. I leaned forward slightly, breaking eye contact briefly to glance down at the smear of chocolate that was across his top lip. He took a deep breath, turning back to the table.

"I promised no kissing," he sighed.

I reached over to run my thumb across his top lip, before bringing it to my lips to lick off.

"You're a cruel one," he groaned.

"Just making my intentions clear," I insisted with a smirk. "Now, we've got one more to try."

Liam waved one of the employees over. "Could we get some to-go boxes for all of this?" he asked, gesturing at the plates covering the table.

"Of course," the man chuckled before walking away.

I reached over and sliced my fork into the final dessert, offering it to Liam.

"Ladies first," he insisted, taking my hand to steer it towards my own mouth. I swallowed around a small hum of pleasure before replying with a smirk.

"Is that your philosophy in all of life?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Absolutely," he replied, taking a bite of his own.

"Even in the bedroom?"

He choked slightly, coughing as he glared at me.

 

\---

 

"I had fun tonight," I grinned as Liam walked me up to my front door.

"I'm glad," he replied, slipping his free hand into mine.

"What happened to no hand-holding?" I smirked.

"I'm really trying not to break the no-kissing rule," he insisted.

"You're giving it a very valiant effort."

"You don't think I can do it?" he said, looking over at me as if I'd just insisted that he was going to loose a FIFA game against Harry.

"I'm applauding the effort, that's all." I raised an eyebrow at him.

"You aren't making it easy."

"I know."

"I guess that means we can't be just friends."

"Probably not," I nodded as I opened the front door and he followed me into the kitchen. We'd split the leftovers between the two of us, knowing that Niall was going to be at Liam's tomorrow and Harry and Louis would eat some at mine.

"Guess that means I can ask you out on a real date?"

"You can ask."

He turned to glare at me slightly. "Does that mean you'll say no?"

I grinned. "You haven't asked."

"Are you free next weekend?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Next Saturday I am."

"Not Friday?"

"I work late Friday."

"Saturday it is."

We paused, looking at each other in silence, both ridiculously happy for a moment.

The moment was broken, of course, by a scream of Louis's name from the direction of their bedroom. Liam chuckled, blushing slightly. "I should go," he muttered, starting towards the door.

"I am so sorry."

"I would expect nothing less from them," he insisted over a moan that I felt all the way to my knees.

"I'll see you later," I grinned, trying to ignore what sounded like a porno happening in the other room.

"I hope you have earplugs."

"I do," I assured him. "Don't worry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: "A Late Night" and "The Date-Date"
> 
> Thanks for reading :)


	8. A Late Night

"Okay, so we're supposed to have a date on Saturday," I started, slightly hesitant.

"Yes, we are. I hope you aren't calling to cancel on me," Liam replied through the phone.

"No, I'm not cancelling. I'm just - well, tour starts soon and I know it can get kind of rough on Louis and Harry, so I was thinking I could just stay at your place this weekend and let them have the place to themselves for some alone time."

"That sounds nice of you."

"But I don't want to give you the wrong idea. And I hate to invite myself over - "

"You are welcome to stay at my place this weekend," Liam assured me. "I don't expect anything."

"Well, I work late tomorrow, so if it's okay, I'd just come over after work and stay the night. I mean, if you have plans, I can entertain myself - "

"I don't have any plans, love. Other than my date with you on Saturday evening."

"Okay, well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow night."

"I'll come by and pick you up. What time do you get off?"

"Oh, you don't have to do that," I replied, not wanting to ask for too much.

"Love, it's fine. I'd rather not think of you riding the tube that late by yourself."

"Okay. The store closes at 10 and I should be done by about 10:30."

"Alright, I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye."

 

\---

 

"So, how was work?" Liam asked as I climbed into his car. I'd insisted he wait outside, I didn't want to deal with anyone seeing us together this late at night.

"Long," I replied as I adjusted my bag in front of me, laying my garment bag across my lap.

Liam glanced over at all of my stuff as I pulled the door shut. "You're staying two nights?" he asked.

I shot him a playful glare. "I'm dressing up for our date tomorrow, mister."

Liam grinned, shifting the car into drive.

"Two nights, though, yes. I'll head home Sunday afternoon," I assured him.

"You sure you can handle me for that long?" he quirked an eyebrow at me.

"I can always seclude myself in the guest room," I shrugged.

"And then you'd force me to join you in the guest room. And there's not a lot to do in the guest room."

I smirked. "Well, there are lots of things to do, they just aren't going to be permitted. By me."

Liam shook his head, slightly, focusing on the road.

I chuckled.

"You are - "

"Adorable?"

He glanced over at me. "That's one of the words I'd use to describe you, but not what I was thinking."

I grinned.

"Are you hungry?"

"Not really. Just ready to relax for a while."

"Already going to seclude yourself?" He smirked.

"Actually, I was thinking a movie would be nice," I paused. "Or we could start your education in Doctor Who." I grinned.

"I suppose that is an option for the weekend."

I bit my lip, weighing my options. "What did you want this weekend? Other than our date tomorrow, I mean."

He glanced over at me. "I've got a few things I'd like to achieve this weekend, but I suppose watching Who could only work in my favor."

"I can't agree to be with a man until he's told me who his favorite Doctor is and who his favorite companion is," I told him.

"Who is your favorite Doctor?" he asked.

"You can't just claim mine as your favorite."

"I didn't say I was going to," he insisted.

"Eleven."

"That's Tennant or Matt Smith?" he asked.

I raised my eyebrows, surprised. "Matt Smith."

"How about we work out a deal?" he proposed after a moment.

"What kind of deal?"

"I'll watch Doctor Who with you - " I clapped, happily. " - tonight and tomorrow, but Sunday, you have to watch X-Men."

 

\---

 

I'd changed into a t-shirt and pajama pants and Liam had pajama pants and a tank on. We'd settled onto his couch with maybe six inches of space between us. I wanted to cuddle, but I wasn't sure if he was okay with that yet. We weren't really together, but we weren't really not together either, and I'd grown accustomed to cuddling with Louis and Harry in front of the TV anymore. They'd been spoiling me, clearly.

"Okay, you can't judge the show based on the first episode," I insisted as I pulled up Netflix.

"Isn't it supposed to make you want to watch it?" Liam asked.

"I'm just not a huge fan of the first episode, but you can't skip it, because nothing will make sense without it," I explained.

He rolled his eyes. "So, here watch this show, you're gonna love it, but you're not gonna like it at first?"

I grinned. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Alright, let's do this."

 

\---

 

"Wait, the mannequins are attacking the city?"

"Yeah."

"The mannequins?!"

 

\---

 

"Wait, I thought she was in love with the Doctor?"

"Shhhh."

 

\---

 

"One more episode. I can't have you going to sleep and pondering how much worse it can get," I insisted.

"It's not that bad."

I gave him a look.

"I'd still give it a few episodes before I decided whether I liked it."

We'd moved closer together during the 45 minute episode, and he slipped his arm around my shoulders as I started another episode.

 

\---

 

"Air from my lungs? Seriously?" He was laughing and I had a big grin on my face. It was one of my favorite lines on the show. This was the episode that had convinced me that I'd love the show, too, so I was glad he was enjoying it. "'How intimate.' Is this how aliens hit on each other?"

"I mean, clearly, what's more intimate than sharing oxygen?" I laughed.

His arm was still wrapped around my shoulders, but his other hand reached for my hand, threading our fingers together. "I can think of a few things."

I blushed.

 

\---

 

"She's the last remaining human?"

"Gross, huh?"

"How is she even alive?"

 

\---

 

"Riley," Liam nudged me awake. "Babe, I think you'd be better off in a bed."

"Are you hitting on me?" I mumbled back.

He chuckled. "Just thinking of your poor back, love. I don't think the couch would be very kind to it."

"You're a good pillow, though," I insisted, still barely awake.

He pulled me to my feet, wrapping an arm around my waist as I leaned against him. "Let's get you to bed."

I let him lead me down the hall to the guest room where I'd dumped all of my stuff earlier. He pulled back the blanket and then tucked me in.

"Night, Riley," he murmured and I felt a kiss against my temple as I drifted back to sleep.

 

\---

 

"G'morning," I mumbled as I stumbled into the kitchen to find Liam sitting there, shirtless, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Good morning," he replied with a smile as I got momentarily distracted by his shirtless state. "Cereal's in that cabinet there," he told me with a gesture in the right direction.

I shook myself slightly, blushing as I moved to peruse his cereal selection. I smiled, finding that he had Cocoa Puffs, reaching for them on the top shelf. I turned to walk over to the table to discover him watching me closely.

"What?" I asked, suddenly wondering if my shirt was on backwards or something.

He shook his head, looking down at this cereal. "Nothing."

"Where might I find a bowl and spoon?" I asked, choosing to ignore the weird moment.

He pointed me to the correct cupboard and in no time, I was sitting down across from him with my bowl of Cocoa Puffs.

"We might be able to make it through the ninth Doctor today," I told him after a few moments of silence over our cereal.

Liam nodded, taking another bite of his cereal as he just watched me.

"What're we doing for our date tonight?" I asked.

"Dinner," he replied, grinning down into his cereal.

"Yeah, 'cause that doesn't seem suspicious at all."

"It's a surprise," he insisted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> coming up: "The Date-Date" and "A Flight"
> 
> Thanks for reading! Kudos/comments appreciated! :)
> 
> (and I'm willing to take some suggestions if any of you have anything you'd like to see happen...I've got through chapter 11 written, but I can work some stuff in if anyone has anything they want to see)


	9. The Date-Date

"Seriously?" I stopped him with a hand to his shoulder as we started to cross the street, looking up at the building. It looked really familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. "What is this?"

Liam smiled. "This is where we're having dinner. Well - " He pointed towards the roof. " - that's where we're having dinner." He pulled me across the street as the cars stopped at the corner. "C'mon."

I followed him into the building and up the stairs. The whole building was dark, Paddy had opened the door for us. "Did you rent the building for the evening or something?" I asked, noting the absence of anyone in the building.

"It wasn't that much," he shrugged as he opened the door to the roof.

"Says the millionaire," I muttered.

"Our first date had to be good," he insisted.

"You're already convinced that it's a good date?" I smirked, looking around at the lights strung up around the roof and the little table in the middle. Music was playing from a stereo near the table.

"I think the weekend is going pretty well," he grinned, letting go of my hand to walk over and pull out a chair. "Dinner should be hot. It just got here before us."

"Oh really?" I asked, adjusting my dress as I sat down, taking note of the music.

I want you.

I want you so bad.

I want you.

 I want you so bad.

It's driving me mad;

It's driving me mad.

"Wait," I said, looking around. "Is this a Beatles thing?"

Liam chuckled as he sat down across from me. "This is where their rooftop concert was. It was their last public performance."

"I thought this looked familiar. I just wasn't placing it."

I want you.

I want you so bad.

"I'm just glad it didn't decide to rain today."

"Did you have a back-up plan?" I asked with a grin.

"Not any that were as good as this one," he admitted.

 

\---

 

"Care to dance?" he asked after we'd finished eating, standing and offering me a hand.

"I thought One Direction didn't dance," I teased, taking his hand.

Hey Jude, don't make it bad

Take a sad song and make it better

"I've got moves," he insisted with a grin, pulling me in close. His hand other hand settled at my waist as he started to sway to the music.

Hey Jude, don't be afraid

You were made to go out and get her

"The minute you let her under your skin, then you begin to make it better," Liam started to sing along to the music. "And anytime you feel the pain, hey Jude, refrain."

"Ah, I see the plan now."

"Plan?" he asked as we continued swaying to the music, looking down at me.

"Well, serenading me with that voice is hard to resist," I quirked an eyebrow at him.

He smiled. "Hey Jude, don't let me down. You have found her, now go and get her."

I closed my eyes, letting his voice wash over me as we danced.

As the song ended, he spoke. "We don't have a no-kissing rule anymore, right?"

I opened my eyes to look up at him with a small smile. "Definitely not," I assured him.

He grinned, continuing to sway as the next song started. "Just wanted to be sure."

I shot him a small glare after a moment. "I'm waiting."

"The moment has passed," he smirked.

Something in the way she moves

Attracts me like no other lover

Something in the way she woos me

He looked down at me, his smirk turning into a soft smile as he started to sing along to the music again. "I don't want to leave her now; you know I believe and how, somewhere in her smile she knows that I don't need no other lover."

I grinned, drowning in the way his eyes were looking at me.

"Something in her style that shows me. Don't want to leave her now. You know I believe and how. You're asking me will my love grow? I don't know. I don't know. You stick around now it may show. I don't know. I don't know."

His eyes flickered down to my lips and then he was leaning in as my breath caught in my throat. My eyes fell shut as his lips pressed to mine, soft but so confident. His hand moved to my neck, his thumb trailing across my jaw as he pulled back to look at me. I smiled, reaching to pull him in for another kiss.

Don't want to leave her now

You know I believe and how

His tongue ran across my bottom lip and I almost gasped as he slipped his tongue into my mouth, all hot and playful, exploring. One of his hands remained at my neck, but his other was at my waist, pressing me against him as he continued his loving assault across my lips.

As the song ended, he slowly pulled away, smiling down at me. "See? That was a good moment, right?"

I chuckled, blushing slightly. "And you ruined it."

He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips. "But now I can do that whenever I want, right?"

I studied him for a moment, carefully considering my response. "I don't think I was asked on anything but a first date," I settled on being the best answer.

"Well, I mean, you're staying at my place for the rest of the weekend, so it could be considered an extension of our first date," he argued with a soft smile.

"You could argue that, but - "

He cut me off with a kiss. "I don't feel like your lips are protesting as much as your mouth." He grinned.

I shivered slightly as a gust of wind brushed past us.

"C'mon, let's go enjoy the view," he pleaded, pulling his jacket off to slip around my shoulders before gesturing towards a bench near the edge of the roof. "It's a bit chilly for a rooftop date, but it's so pretty up here, I thought you might forgive me."

I sat down on the bench with a smile as he spread out a blanket to cover our legs, sitting close to me so he could wrap an arm around my shoulders.

"It is gorgeous up here," I admitted. "What made you think of having our date here?"

"I liked the privacy of it, for one. I wouldn't want to share this beautiful view with anyone," he grinned, giving me a onceover.

I rolled my eyes. "Jealous much?"

"I think you snogging with my band mate on a semi-regular basis would present a problem if that were the case," he replied with a chuckle.

I paused at his words, unsure if I should laugh with him or not. "You can still back out of this, if you want," I offered, refusing to look at him. "I mean, this is - "

"Exactly where I want to be," he insisted, nudging my chin to make me look at him. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be and I'm not backing off now."

"I just - I'm sure you never planned to end up in a secret relationship with somebody. And that's what this'll have to be for a while. It's not fair of me to - "

"Riley," he stopped me. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

I blushed, looking down at my hands before nodding.

He reached out to thread our fingers together before continuing. "Okay, then I'm your boyfriend and you're my girlfriend. We may have to keep it hush hush, but you make me happy. I feel better when I'm talking to you or around you or know that I'll be seeing you soon. You make things better, okay? That's all that matters to me."

I nodded again, hesitantly looking up at him. He leaned in and pressed a sweet kiss to my lips.

"The Harry thing might bother me a bit, but I know - "

I stopped him with a kiss. "It doesn't mean anything. Kissing him is nothing like kissing you."

He smiled, his eyes lighting up.

"And when it bothers you, I want you to tell me, okay? I can only change so much about what is going on between me and Harry, but we take Louis's feelings into consideration on everything we do. If Louis says to stop, we do. Same goes for you, if you need to use it, okay?"

"Okay."

We sat and looked at the view for a few moments in silence. His thumb was circling a random pattern on my hand in a comforting manner as he periodically switched between looking at the view and watching me.

"Tell me something that no one knows about you," Liam muttered.

I glanced at him, before returning my eyes to the view, thinking. "I've always wanted to be an artist in some capacity."

"Like drawing, painting, that kind of artist?" Liam asked, surprised.

I nodded. "I'm pretty good at sketching. I don't find enough time to work on it, though. Always seem to find something else to consume my time. I always thought it'd be fun to illustrate a children's book."

He hummed in response.

"Not what you were expecting?" I asked, turning towards him to grin.

"I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I had no idea you were into art."

"I love it. The feel of a paintbrush in my hands is like no other."

A momentary pause settled comfortably into our conversation.

"When was the last time you spoke to your mother?" I asked, curious how close he was with his family.

He was surprised by the question. "Yesterday afternoon was the last time we talked on the phone, but I texted her earlier today, if that counts."

"You talk to your parents a lot?"

"I do."

"Good, good."

"They know about you," he assured me. "If that's where this is going."

"I was just curious how close you were, but that's good to know," I nodded.

Another pause. "When did your last relationship end and why?" he asked, slightly hesitant.

"It was a little over a year ago. He cheated on me with a girl I thought was a friend."

"I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "I got over it. What about you?"

"A couple years ago. We were just going in different directions."

"You were going in one direction and she was going in another?" I asked, shooting him a grin.

He chuckled. "Something like that."

"Long distance relationships can suck," I admitted.

"I think if both people put a lot of effort into it and want it to work, they can make it work. It's just hard."

"You're gonna be on tour and I'm gonna be here," I sighed.

"You're coming to South America, though, right? That puts it off a little bit longer."

I nodded. "Yeah, Harry and Louis both want me to come. I'll probably mostly stay here after that, though. I don't want to be freeloading off of them."

"You like your job at the bookstore, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's great. I think Luke is looking to giving me more hours after one of the other ladies that works there leaves this summer."

"That's good. It'll keep you busy."

"Since all of my friends and my boyfriend will be gone travelling the world? Yeah."

Liam grinned.

"What?"

"You called me your boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, you are, aren't you?"

He placed a kiss to my lips. "Yeah."

I shivered slightly at another gust of wind.

"We should probably head home before it gets any colder."

I nodded. "Are we gonna watch more Who when we get back?"

Liam chuckled. "Absolutely."

 

\---

 

"What?!" Liam exclaimed, throwing popcorn at the television screen.

Tears were streaming down my face, despite knowing what was coming.

"He doesn't even get to tell her he loves her?" Liam asked, looking over to see my tear stained face. "Baby - " He reached to wipe the tears away, pulling me into his arms.

"It's so sad," I muttered.

"I hate seeing you cry."

"I'm an ugly crier."

"That's not what I meant," he chuckled.

 

\---

 

"Why does it look like you've been crying?" Louis demanded when I'd entered the kitchen. "What did he do?"

"He didn't - "

"Have you been crying or not, Riley?"

"I have, but - "

"What the hell did he do?"

"Louis, love, maybe you should let her answer," Harry tried to calm him with a hand to his arm.

"He didn't do anything. We were watching Doctor Who and we got to the Doomsday episode and its just really emotional, okay?" I insisted.

Harry chuckled. "See, Lou? Nothing to worry about. How was your date last night?"

I smiled. "Good."

"Should we be expecting you to be sneaking into each other's rooms the entire time we're in South America?" Harry asked with a grin.

I blushed slightly. "Probably. I mean, I love you two and all, but I'd rather be cuddling with my boyfriend."

Both of their mouths dropped open slightly.

"Boyfriend?"

"You're official?" Harry exclaimed.

I nodded.

"Good, I'm glad. We'll figure something out."

"You've only had one date," Louis reminded me.

"Yeah, but when are we going to have time for the next one?" I insisted.

"It just seems a bit fast."

"Says one-half of Larry Stylinson."

Louis blushed just barely. "Okay, I concede. I just want you to be happy."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know a lot about The Beatles, but it seemed like a cute idea and it just kind of happened and I know more about The Beatles than I did prior to writing this chapter, that's for sure.  
> Comments/kudos appreciated!  
> I'm @larryfangirl on twitter, if you wanna send me some love that way and 'l-a-r-r-yspellslove' on tumblr. Thanks for reading!  
> Updates are every Tuesday.  
> Coming up: A Flight


	10. A Flight

**_You should come help me pack. :(_ **

_We're leaving tomorrow, you haven't packet yet?_

**_I just said you should come help me._ **

**_Have YOU packed?_ **

_I've STARTED._

**_Well, come help me and then you can finish._ **

_I don't think we'll be getting a whole lot accomplished if I come over._

**_Sure we will ;)_ **

_Alright, I'll be there as soon as I finish my packing._

**_But, Liiiiiiiaam_ **

_If I finish packing, I can stay longer…_

**_Okay, well, hurry up._ **

_:)_

 

"Liam's coming over."

"Don't you need to pack?" Harry asked.

"Are you two packed?" I asked, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Yeah, actually, we are," Louis smirked.

"Well, I'm working on it," I insisted.

"And Liam's going to…help?" Louis questioned my motives.

"Yes. He's going to help. I'll be packed by the end of the night."

"You'll have to be. We're leaving tomorrow," Harry reminded me. "Don't spend the whole time snogging."

 

\---

 

"Have you at least started?" Liam quirked an eyebrow at me, leaning on my door frame.

I smiled over at him. "I didn't hear you come in."

"I'm sneaky like that."

"I've started," I insisted. "I just haven't gotten very far."

"It's only a couple weeks, Riley," he reminded me.

"That doesn't mean it's any easier to pack."

He walked over and lifted the top of my suitcase, peaking inside. "This is all you've packed?" he chuckled.

"Bras and underwear are the easy part. No one's going to be seeing those. Clothes, on the other hand, I have to think about. Do I want dressy or do I want casual or do I care?"

"I don't think it matters."

"Of course you don't, you're a boy. Why am I asking?" I walked over to my closet and started randomly throwing shirts, jeans, and dresses towards the bed.

Liam grinned, sitting down next to the pile of clothes. "I kind of figured I was here for you to just look at."

"I'm worried about spending time with you once we've lifted off tomorrow," I admitted from the closet.

"We'll spend time together," he assured me. "I'll sneak into your room every night. Or you can sneak into mine."

I peeked around the closet's door frame to look at him. "Cuddles are the only thing that's going to happen."

He rolled his eyes. "That's fine. Just because we're in a room with a bed doesn't mean we have to have sex. I mean, look at us now. I haven't even gotten a kiss hello."

I grinned, walking over to him to lean in for a quick kiss. "Hello. Better?"

"Much." He smiled as I returned to shuffling through my clothes in the closet.

"I just want my intentions to be clear," I explained. "I don't want to rush into anything physical."

I could practically hear Liam rolling his eyes. "Yes, dear."

"I'm serious."

"I know. It's fine. I don't have a problem with it."

"Okay. Now, do you think I should take all skinnies or a couple of straight leg jeans, too?"

"Skinnies."

I came out to look at him. "Why is that?"

"Your legs look amazing in skinnies."

"Thanks, I think?"

"Skinnies, some t-shirts, and a few dresses and I think you'll be good, babe."

"Should I take shorts?"

 

\---

 

"Hey, is Liam staying for dinner?" Louis asked as soon as we'd zipped up my suitcase and we were rolling it over to the door.

"Yeah," I answered, not even bothering to ask Liam.

"What if I had other plans?" he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Well, you just changed them."

He chuckled.

"Does Harry want my help with anything?" I asked.

"Yes!" Harry called from the kitchen.

"What're you making?"

"Egg rolls."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he picks something time consuming for our last night before tour. He misses his own kitchen too much when he's gone.

"Liam, you wanna help?" I asked, pulling him towards the kitchen.

"Do I have a choice?"

I just grinned.

 

\---

 

"See? It's not that hard," I insisted, watching Liam roll up another egg roll.

"Does this count as cooking?" Liam asked.

Louis laughed. "Nope. They won't allow me to count it as cooking, so no way does it count for you." He was pinching together crab rangoons while Liam and I were rolling up the egg rolls as Harry worked on frying them.

"It's a step in the process of cooking, but no. Not cooking," I laughed. "We'll get you there."

"They haven't granted me the skills to cook. I wouldn't hold your breath," Louis teased.

Liam chuckled. "You were a bit of a lost cause to begin with, mate."

Louis pretended to look affronted. "I have cooked one - "

" - meal in your life. Chicken stuffed with mozzarella, wrapped with parma ham," I finished with a smirk.

"That was back when you were still set on impressing him," Liam added with a small smile towards Harry.

"I'm still impressing him," Louis insisted.

Liam, Harry, and I all laughed.

 

\---

 

"Do you have to go?" I whined.

"Yes, baby," Liam replied. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"But you won't be able to sit next to me or barely talk to me."

"I'll be able to talk to you, baby."

"I'll have to be all cuddly with Harry," I reminded him.

He leaned forward and kissed me. "Then you can come to my room and cuddle with me once we've gotten to the hotel."

"But we've got to keep it a secret."

"The boys all know and Paddy knows. That's about it."

"And George and Oscar," I added, referring to Louis and Harry's bodyguards.

"We don't have to worry." He pressed another kiss to my lips.

"Okay. Well, text me. A lot. Since you'll be right there and unable to talk to me."

"I'll talk to you."

"Not like this," I reminded him, kissing him again. "Now, go home and get some sleep."

"Yes, ma'am."

 

\---

 

_You look good today._

**_*rolling my eyes*_ **

_You doooo_

**_I'm dressed to get on a plane for 10+ hours :(_ **

_You still look beautiful :*_

**_:*_ **

 

\---

 

"What are you smiling about?" Harry asked.

"Can't a girl just be happy?"

"Of course, I just didn't expect you to be so cheery today."

"I'm on my way to South America for the first time. What's not to be happy about?"

"You're on the opposite end of the plane from your boyfriend, for one."

"So are you," I pointed out.

"Okay, granted."

"You want me to miss mine so you can miss yours?"

Harry pouted. "Shut up."

"Oh, is this our first couple fight?" I asked with a grin.

"Keep talkin' and it might be," he replied, trying to hold back a smile.

"Kiss me and we'll make up."

He leaned forward a brushed a soft kiss to my lips. I'd pointed out that anyone on the flight could comment on our relationship, so we should keep the act up on the plane. Most of first class was filled with the boys and their bodyguards and such, but I noticed the flight attendants were a little excited that they'd be flying with One Direction.

"I just got a look," Harry muttered into my ear with a grin.

"A look?"

"I think your boy wishes you were kissing him."

I rolled my eyes, waiting a few seconds before looking up the aisle towards Liam's seat. He was turned, talking to Niall in the seat behind him, but glanced our way every few seconds. Real subtle, honey. I shot him a small wave and smile.

"He knows what's up. Ignore him."

"As if you can ignore him," Harry chuckled.

"I am going to sleep for most of this flight, as I'm sure you are as well," I insisted.

"Meet him in your dreams, eh?"

I giggled. "Something like that. Cuddling will make me sleep better, though," I insisted. He lifted his arm, letting me lean into his chest.

"You're lucky I love you," he muttered.

I grinned. "Oh, I know."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I missed last week! I'm back on track now. I've got next week's written and I'm about halfway through the one after that!  
> Thanks for reading!  
> Comments/kudos are appreciated! They definitely keep me writing!


	11. A Game

"Strip truth or dare."

"What?" Niall exclaimed.

"Strip truth or dare," I repeated. All five boys and I were sitting in various positions throughout Liam's room. "Unless you guys are too scared?"

Protests were made throughout the room.

"What makes it strip truth or dare?" Harry demanded.

"If you refuse a dare or to answer a question, you take an item of clothing off," I replied, quirking my eyebrow at him.

"Alright, who's first?" Liam asked.

"I feel like this game needs a bit of alcohol," Niall muttered, reaching for the mini-fridge and pulling out a beer.

"Oldest? Youngest?" I suggested.

"Oldest," Louis called out. "Niall, truth or dare?"

"Oh, god, dare," Niall replied, taking a sip of his beer.

"Play the game without alcohol," Louis dared him.

Niall moved to take his snapback off.

"Seriously? That was an easy one!" I insisted.

"Says the girl that proposed the game."

I rolled my eyes.

"Riley, truth or dare?" Niall asked.

"Dare," I replied without hesitation.

"Snog Louis."

"What?" I was surprised by the request.

"Snog Louis," Niall repeated, gesturing in the older boy's direction.

I looked to Liam, who had just pulled out a beer of his own. He just shrugged. I shot Harry a questioning look. "I dunno…"

"C'mon, Riley. It's an easy one," Niall teased.

Harry and Louis exchanged a look before they both just shrugged. I stood up from my place next to Liam on the bed and walked over to sit next to Louis. "Are you sure?" I asked, glancing at his boyfriend and back over to my boyfriend.

"It's truth or dare, babe," Liam replied.

I looked back at Louis, who took control of the situation and pulled me into a heated kiss. His lips slid against mine as his tongue found its way into my mouth. He was, as he always was, in complete control of the situation as his hand rested lightly against my neck, assuring that I wouldn't move away until he let me. Our tongues slid together a few more moments until he pulled away with a grin.

Harry was just staring at us, his mouth slightly open. I blushed slightly, moving back to my place by Liam, where he immediately pressed a kiss to my temple.

"Zayn, truth or dare?"

"Truth," he replied.

"How many people in this room have you kissed?" I asked before taking a sip out of my water bottle.

I saw an awkward look shot towards Liam before he answered. "Two."

"What? Who?" I asked, looking around.

"That wasn't the question, love," Zayn reminded me with a slight smirk. "Harry, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Zayn pulled out his phone. "Hold on. Let me think."

"Let you Google, you mean?" I chuckled.

"Oh, here we go," he chuckled. "Who in this room, other than Louis, would you want to have sex with?"

Louis lifted an eyebrow, turning to his boyfriend.

"Oh, no. No way am I answering this question," Harry shook his head.

"Strip."

"Bet you always wanted to say that to him," Niall chuckled.

I laughed. "He walks around naked half the time, why would I need to?"

Harry tugged the headband off of his head.

"Liam, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"I dare you to DM a fan on twitter and ask if you should shave your head again. If they say yes, you have to do it."

Liam laughed, pulling out his phone.

"Louis, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What would cause you to marry your beard?"

Louis laughed. "Nothing. I would never - "

"You have to answer it, Louis!" I insisted.

"Okay," he rolled his eyes, thinking for a second. "I guess if Harry were at risk in someway, I could be forced to marry her."

"Physical harm," I laughed. "Good answer."

"Never gonna happen," Louis muttered. "Zayn, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Hand Harry your phone and let him text anything he wants to one person."

Harry smirked in Zayn's direction.

"No way. I am not dealing with the fall out from that," Zayn chuckled, pulling his shirt off over his head.

"Wise decision," Niall muttered.

"It's a no," Liam announced, showing us his phone. The response from the fan was a whole bunch of exclamation points, but it did say 'no.'

"Lucky you."

"Niall, truth or dare?" Zayn asked.

"Dare."

"I dare you to - " Zayn smirked. "Kiss Harry."

Niall shrugged, moving across the floor to press a quick kiss to Harry's lips.

"Liam, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"If you had to trade significant others with another person in the room, who would you trade with?"

"Louis," Liam laughed. "Harry can cook."

"Oh, I see how high your standards are," I teased, slapping his arm.

"You've kissed him, I might as well have my shot," Liam insisted.

"Like you haven't kissed him." I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you assume that?"

"Because Harry is just like that. Niall barely blinked when he was told to kiss Harry and I'm guessing Zayn's two people are you and Harry. Louis and I have obviously kissed Harry, so if you haven't, you're the only one in the room."

Liam chuckled, looking guilty.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"They were drunk when it happened, to be fair," Louis insisted.

I laughed.

"Harry, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Turn off your inner monologue and say whatever comes to your mind for the next ten minutes."

Harry chuckled. "I don't know if you want to do that, mate."

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Liam smirked.

"You asked for it. That's all I'm saying," Harry insisted. "Riley, truth or dare? Please pick truth. I don't have anything for dare."

"Truth," I chuckled.

"Okay, she picked truth. How do you want to be proposed to? If she answers this, then she's an idiot, because it's totally jinxing it - "

"I'm definitely not answering that," I said, pulling my shirt off over my head. I still had a cami on underneath, so I wasn't showing much skin yet. "That's like telling your birthday wish after you've blown out the candles."

"Are you trying to get my girl to strip?" Liam asked.

"No, no. Maybe. Well, she is attractive, okay? I mean, if I didn't have Louis, I would totally - "

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," I cut him off.

"Turning off my inner monologue," Harry insisted. "Is anyone else hungry? I'm hungry. Liam, what is there to eat in here?"

Louis laughed.

"There's fruit on the table over there, help yourself."

"Louis, truth or dare?"

"You have bananas!" Harry exclaimed.

"Truth."

"What was the last lie you told?" I asked.

Louis shook his head with a small glance towards Harry's back as he pulled his shirt off.

"Liam, truth or dare?"

"Dare."

"Re-enact your last breakup with someone acting as your ex."

"Danielle. He means Danielle," Harry said. "I wouldn't do it if I were him. It's just asking for trouble. And with his girlfriend, right there? No. No, Li, you shouldn't do it."

"Yeah," Liam agreed, glancing nervously at me. "I don't think I should do that one." He pulled his shirt off over his head. I tried (and horribly failed) not to stare at his abs.

"It's a good thing they're together now," Harry said. "She didn't stare at Zayn's chest, I'll give her that. She's already seen me and Louis naked. I guess we've just got Niall to go in that department."

"Oh my god, Harry," I muttered, blushing.

"She's allowed to look," Liam insisted, chuckling. "Riley, truth or dare?"

"Oh, god. Uh, dare."

"Kiss me," Liam smirked.

I rolled my eyes, leaning in to press our lips together as the other boys catcalled.

"Like you needed a dare to do that," I muttered.

"I bet they'd be fun to watch," Harry was still saying everything that came to mind. "They've both got a bit of a forceful personality. It'd be interesting to see in the bedroom."

"How much longer is left in his ten minutes?" I asked, blushing.

"Aw, Riley's embarrassed. What's wrong, Riley? Hot and bothered thinking about doing the deed with your boy toy?"

"Only one more minute, love," Liam told me with a chuckle.

"It's good to know you think so much about my sex life," I told Harry. "Why not think about your own?"

Liam, Niall, and Zayn hushed me, but it was too late.

"I didn't think I'd corrupt your pretty little ears, babe. I mean, Louis fucked me hard last night. Yeah, it was great. And I gave him a blow job after. I know you've heard that little story, but let me assure you, I've gotten much better at giving blow jobs."

"I can't believe you got him started, Riley."

"I've pretty much completely gotten rid of my gag reflex."

"He has."

"Louis!"

"And it doesn't make me as hoarse as it used to, but we're still careful when there's a show the next day."

"Time!"

"Oh, thank god."

"Can we end this game?" Louis asked. He and Harry had suddenly become enraptured with each other. "I think we're gonna head to bed."

"Yeah, yeah, you two go," I insisted, waiting for them to leave the room before turning to Zayn. "Zayn, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Who in this room do you think will be the most successful in 20 years? I guess you can include Louis and Harry, since they just left."

Zayn nervously looked between Niall and Liam. "I guess since Liam and Louis have been doing a lot of songwriting, I'd say one of them."

"That's fair," Niall agreed. "I mean they could do that for years and songwriting makes a lot of money."

"Niall, truth or dare?" Zayn asked.

"Dare."

"Aw, c'mon, Niall, you need to answer a truth," I begged.

"Fine, truth."

"What's your number?" Zayn asked with a slight smirk.

Niall glared at him. "Eight. Riley, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

Niall smirked. "Who would you want to have a threesome with Liam with?"

My eyes widened in shock. Not a question I was expecting to be asked.

"C'mon, Riley, strip or answer," Niall insisted.

I bit my lip, nervously, looking at the wall behind Niall's head. "Uh, Zayn."

Niall laughed hysterically while the other two boys just looked at each other.

"Oh my god, Riley, I love you," Niall exclaimed between bits of laughter.

I chanced a look at my boyfriend. His eyes were wide open in surprise, glancing back and forth between me and Zayn. "Are you serious?" Liam whispered.

I nodded, blushing. "Niall, shut up!"

"I can't believe you just said that with him sitting right there. With both of them right there!" Niall was still laughing.

"Can you guys, uh, leave?" Liam asked. He was still staring at me, but now his eyes had found my lips and he looked deliciously turned on.

"Uh, yeah," Zayn muttered, fleeing the room.

Niall was still laughing as he followed.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Liam's lips were on mine, pressing a possessive kiss into my mouth.

"We're not having sex," I reminded him.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "I know. Truth or dare?"

"We're still playing?" I asked with a smile.

He nodded.

"Dare."

"Take your shirt off."

"Liam - "

"I'm shirtless and you're not," he insisted.

I pulled the cami off over my head. "We are not going any further than this. I don't want to rush anything," I reminded him. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Are you attracted to Zayn?"

"Riley," he protested.

I quirked an eyebrow at him, waiting for an answer.

"Not like I'm attracted to you," he settled with for an answer. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your number?" he asked.

"Two," I admitted. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your number?"

"Three. First thing you notice about the opposite sex?"

"Their eyes," I told him, staring into his for a second before pressing our mouths together. The kiss was cut off by a yawn from me and Liam chuckled, getting up to go flip the light off.

"Okay, this is a proposition for the far far future, but would you seriously be interested in having a threesome with Zayn?" Liam asked as my eyes adjusted to the dark room.

"Maybe. I mean, if you were into it. We should probably wait 'til we've actually had sex to give it serious consideration. Besides, it's not like Zayn would agree to it, since he's engaged to Perrie."

Liam didn't say anything as he climbed into bed next to me.

"Is he really in love with Perrie?" I asked in a small voice after we'd laid down, Liam pressed against my back, wrapping an arm around me.

"I don't know," Liam admitted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> updates are on Tuesdays. next chapter is in the works...


	12. Time Together

"This is nice," I muttered. Liam and I were lying on his bed in his hotel room. We'd made it through our first day in South America and I'd managed to sneak into his room. I was curled into his side and he was running his fingers through my hair, absentmindedly.

"I'm glad you're here."

I smiled slightly and started humming 'You're Gonna Miss Me' as he continued to play with my hair.

"You're gonna miss me by my hair," I started singing, quietly. "You're gonna miss me everywhere, oh, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."

Liam chuckled. "You're ridiculous."

"But I'm right," I grinned, looking up at him.

"Yeah, yeah, you are."

 

\---

 

"Sorry, this is a little lame," Liam apologized again.

"This is not lame," I insisted. "Doctor Who is never lame."

Liam rolled his eyes with a small smile. "You know what I meant."

We'd managed to snag some time alone and he'd revealed that he'd downloaded the second series of Doctor Who in preparation of any free time we might have together. His hotel room had a nice flat-screen TV, but we'd opted for cuddling up on the bed and watching it on his laptop.

"This is great, Li," I said, looking up at him. "Really, I just want to spend time with you."

"I know it's been rough lately," he sighed. It'd been nearly a week since we'd gotten any time alone. People seemed to be constantly watching us. The boys might be fine with us being together, but management would definitely not be and we couldn't have anyone finding out that might let it slip.

"We're going home soon," I reminded him.

"And then I'll be half a world away shortly after."

I smacked him lightly. "Way to be optimistic, babe."

"What? It's true."

"Yeah, but we'll have a little time in London before then," I insisted.

"Yeah."

"We'll be fine."

He nodded, turning back to the screen.

"Li," I said, waiting for him to look at me. "We might talk more when we're in different countries, okay? Right now, I can't get you to myself, but when its down to Skyping and texting and phone calls? You're gonna get sick of how much I'll be talking to you."

He smiled, leaning in to press a kiss to my lips. "I can't imagine getting sick of you."

"Just you wait." I grinned, glad I'd pulled him out of his momentary slump.

 

\---

 

"I'm sorry," I muttered as Liam made a frustrated noise before heading for the bathroom. I'd stopped yet another heated snogging session between the two of us and he kept saying it was fine, but I still felt the need to apologize for some reason.

"You don't need to apologize, babe," Liam said from the bathroom just before I heard the sink turn on and the sound of him splashing cold water on his face. He came back a moment later, wiping his face off with a towel. "I don't want you doing anything you're uncomfortable with."

"I'm just not ready. I don't want - " I cut myself off, looking away from him.

"Don't want what, babe?" he asked, coming over to sit next to me.

"It's a little old-fashioned, but I'd rather be in love before we have sex. My last boyfriend, well, we weren't and I regretted jumping into the physical side of the relationship so fast," I confessed.

Liam's hand came up to cup my cheek, gently forcing me to look at him. "That's totally fine, baby. We can wait." He leaned in a pressed a sweet kiss to my lips in assurance.

"Thank you."

"Wanna watch a movie?"

"Can we just talk for a bit?" I asked.

"Of course," Liam replied with a small smile, moving back to lean against the bed's headboard. "What do you want to talk about?"

I moved to sit next to him, leaning into his shoulder as his arm slipped around me and he kissed the top of my head. "Anything. What're you going to do for your break?" I asked, knowing we'd be on a plane home in the morning.

"Spend lots of time with you."

"Duh, but are you planning on doing anything else?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"Sleeping. A lot. You could join me for that bit," he smirked.

"Seeing Andy? Your family?" I asked, ignoring his smirk.

"My parents are coming for the shows at Wembley, so I don't know if I'll be seeing them this break or not. I'm sure Andy will be around."

"He's always around." I chuckled.

"Oh, I'll kick him out whenever you want me to," Liam replied with a chuckle of his own and kiss pressed to my forehead. "I just want time with my girl before we leave again."

I sighed. "I don't want to think about it. Besides, you won't be far for a while yet. I can still come to some shows in Europe. It'll just get more complicated with America dates."

"Maybe Louis and Harry'll put on a show and get you flown in by Katherine," Liam suggested, hopefully.

"You want your band mates getting in trouble?"

"No, I want my girl on tour with me and if she's my band mate's beard and them getting in a bit of trouble gets you closer to me, then I'm all for it."

I laughed. "I'm sure you could convince them to do something if you get desperate."

"Probably won't even have to ask. Those two - they are ridiculously in love."

"I don't understand how they do it."

"They don't really have a choice," Liam reminded me.

"And now you've been sucked into the confusing nature of secret relationships and beards."

"Speaking of which," Liam started.

I turned and gave him a confused look. "Speaking of what?"

"I think they're going to want me to go out on a few dates or get papped with some girls while we're on tour."

I pouted. "You can't just say no?"

"I can try, but I just don't want you thinking anything. It's not like I'll do anything. I'm not going to cheat on you - "

"Even though I do on a daily basis?"

He shot me a small glare. "You and Harry is a confusing thing in and of itself, but you know I'm okay with it as much as I can be."

"Just don't kiss anybody," I pleaded, afraid of him falling for someone else while he was away from me.

He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my lips. "I don't want to kiss anybody else, baby. I just want you to be prepared for the stupid pap stories."

I nodded. "It'll be fine. If you can handle it, I can handle it."

"I hope so. They'll probably try spinning something about Harry as well, I wouldn't be surprised."

"He's the player of the group - "

"Even though, in reality, he's one half of the most devoted couple I know."

I chuckled, sadly. "Yeah. They put up with a lot of shit."

"And now you're in the midst of that."

"I chose this. I think I'm helping, really, I mean, Louis would rather have someone he can trust with Harry than a string of random women," I insisted.

"They've felt more in control of the situation since you came along, that's for sure," Liam conceded.

"Good, I hate seeing them hurt. Before I even knew any of you, I hated seeing any of you hurt."

Liam chuckled. "I sometimes forget that you were a fan before you got hired."

I grinned. "Is it a bad thing?"

"No, well, other than the fact that you were a Harry girl." He cringed.

"Yeah, but I knew he was taken and I was so in love with how much him and Lou love each other."

"You were still a Harry girl, though."

"He's good-looking! And sweet and - " I noticed the look on Liam's face. "I always thought I'd hit it off with you."

His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly. "What?"

"Louis and Harry had each other. Niall was the guy I'd want to drink with; Zayn was the one I'd want to just make art with or have tattoo me. But you? You were the one that liked comics and always seemed to know what to say and you were ridiculously attractive, especially when you'd shaved your head and - "

He cut me off with a kiss. "You never considered me, though, when you were with Harry for all those months."

"I didn't want to make things complicated and, well, I was having a bit of trouble riding the line between best friend and beard with Harry. I mean, that boy is just - God, I'm jealous of Louis sometimes - but I thought hoping to be friends with you was too much to ask and then we were friends and I just let it drop there. I wasn't going to push and I was incredibly distracted by the two boys I was living with. I just wasn't paying attention."

"Jealous of Louis, huh?" he smirked.

"Isn't everyone in the world jealous of Louis and Harry?" I reasoned.

Liam chuckled.

"Harry got to meet the love of his life at the age of sixteen. That's just not fair."

"I think they're paying their dues."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I think that sometimes, too, but still. The way they look at each other - "

"It's sickening," Liam teased.

I smacked his leg. "It's adorable."

He kissed my cheek. "I know. It's cute that you're around it so much and you still think that."

"I think they're more sickening in the privacy of our home."

Liam chuckled. "I can only imagine."

"I've yet to walk in on them, but I think that's perfectly schemed by them at this point. I only join them in bed on Saturday mornings without an invite and that's just because its our routine now."

"You should stay the night and wake up to Saturday morning cartoons with me when we get back," Liam muttered.

"I could be persuaded to do that," I assured him. "I can't spend all of my free time with you over break, though. I'm gonna miss Louis and Harry, too."

He mumbled something incoherent as he pressed a kiss to my hair.

"Just most of my free time," I assured him.

"I think my parents want you to spend some time over at my place when they come for the London show. Want to get to know you a bit more."

I bit my lip. "Meeting the parents?"

"You've already met them, love," he reminded me.

"Yeah and that went over so well the first time."

Liam chuckled. "They knew nothing was going on."

"Your dad was insinuating that something was going on the entire time, don't lie to me."

"Well, he knew I liked you."

"You told him?!"

"He's my dad. Both of my parents saw the way I looked at you and knew."

"Knew?" I teased.

"That I was totally gone for you," he replied, pressing a kiss to my lips. I grinned into the kiss.

"And I was oblivious."

 

\---

 

"Haz, it's so early," I mumbled into his shoulder as we made our way through the airport.

"I know, babe, but we're going home, you'll get free time with your boyfriend without having to schedule it around shows and fans and - "

" - I know. Hide my face, I look a mess."

"You do not."

"The only problem with travelling with you lot is that I have to make an effort with my looks before I get on a plane. But I'm getting on a plane and I don't want to be in anything but comfy clothes."

Harry rolled his eyes, tugging me through the crowd. "I thought you didn't care."

"I don't most of the time. But it still sucks having people saying you deserve better just because I dared step out in sweats and a hoodie."

"Ignore them."

"I wanna go back to sleep."

"Somebody's grumpy this morning. Didn't you sleep at all last night?" Harry chastised.

"Yeah, I did."

"I didn't."

I blushed. "Not something I need to know, Haz."

He chuckled. "We aren't at the point in our relationship that we can swap stories?"

"I don't have anything to trade yet," I confessed.

A look of surprise crossed his face. "You guys haven't - ?"

I shook my head with a slight blush before pressing my face into his shoulder with a yawn.

"Nothing wrong with waiting," Harry mumbled, trying to cover his surprise.

"We haven't been together that long," I reminded him.

"You've been staying the night together a lot. I just thought - "

"Yeah, I know." I shrugged. "He wants to; I just don't want to rush into anything."

"Good for you," he assured me. "He's a good guy. He won't rush you."

I smiled. "Yeah, I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates are Tuesdays! Comments and kudos are appreciated! Seriously, anything you want to see I will take into consideration! :) About to start writing the next chapter now :)


	13. Over-Thinking

"I'm going home for the night," I insisted.

"But I'll miss you," Liam pouted, hugging me tighter against him. We were cuddled up on the couch at his place, we'd spent the two days since we'd gotten off the plane from South America doing nothing but sleeping, eating, and cuddling.

"I haven't spent any time with Louis and Harry since we got back," I reminded him.

"And you have to work tomorrow," he added. "Can I pick you up when you get off?"

I smiled. "Of course. I should be done by six."

"We'll go out for dinner."

"Is that safe?"

"I've got a place in mind. It's not that hard to disappear in London," Liam assured me.

I nodded. "Mmkay. Do I need to dress up for this date? Because if you're picking me up from work, I'm not going to be in a cocktail dress or anything."

"Hmmm, I could go for nothing," Liam teased.

I slapped his leg. "It's a serious question."

"Nah, it won't be anything fancy." He pressed a kiss into my hair.

 

\---

 

"What? Thought you'd actually come home?" Harry teased as soon as I entered the house.

"Thought you all might want to see me, but if that's not the case," I replied, starting to turn back towards the door.

"No, no." Louis stopped me, turning me back towards the living room. "Liam can't keep you all to himself. Nice to see you left your sex cave to come see us."

I slapped his arm. "We haven't even had sex, jerk."

"Cuddle cave, then," he amended, managing to not even act surprised.

"Is he treating you right? Do we need to come beat him up?" Harry asked, scooting over so I could sit between the two of them on the couch.

"He's great," I assured them. "No beating up necessary."

"For now," Louis added.

I shot him a glare.

 

\---

 

"How are things going? With Liam?" Harry questioned, sitting down on my bed as I shuffled through my closet.

"Good." I shrugged. "I mean, I dunno. It's only been a couple weeks, but he'll be leaving to tour a lot really soon and I don't want to rush things because of him leaving, but then I don't want to slow things down too much and then have it fall apart as soon as he leaves." I sighed, walking over to sit next to Harry.

"I think you need to stop over-thinking things."

I snorted. "Like its so easy."

"We've still got time before we leave for tour and we'll be back home for the shows in London in a couple weeks."

"Yeah, his family's gonna be in town. I think I'm doing the whole 'meet the parents' bit," I grumbled.

Harry chuckled. "You've met his parents."

"Yeah, but we weren't together then. This is different."

Harry shook his head. "They already liked you, Riley. Don't go trying to impress them or anything."

"I'm sure they love that the world gets to see me kissing you when I'm dating their son."

"It's a complicated situation."

"And kind of forbidden."

"You like him, though, right?" Harry asked, switching back to serious.

I shot him a look. "Yeah, I definitely really really like him."

Harry smiled. "I think you need to stop over-thinking this whole timeline you think needs to happen in your head, okay? If you like him and he likes you, which I know he does, then you need to just go with whatever feels comfortable, okay?"

I nodded.

"If you aren't comfortable doing the deed yet, then don't. Tell him you'd rather wait. If you'd rather not be stuck in separate countries or continents when you decide you really want him, then go for it if you're ready. Just stop over-thinking this," he assured me.

 

\---

 

"Make sure you do that display before I get back," Luke reminded me, gesturing at the window to the bookshop. "And could you double-check the children's area when that family leaves? Those kids are making a bit of a mess and we all know how well parents pick up afterwards."

I nodded. "Go enjoy your lunch. I'll be fine," I assured him, pushing him towards the door.

I'd been working for about ten minutes before the family left and I went to discover the children's area obliterated. Books were on the floor everywhere, some of them lying open. I growled in frustration.

"Am I interrupting?" Michelle appeared around a bookshelf.

I shot her a small smile. "Just frustrated with parents' lack of ability to parent," I replied, gesturing at the mess.

"I wasn't sure if you worked today, but I was going to see if you were free for lunch soon? I know your boyfriend's leaving soon, but I wanted to catch up. We haven't seen each other in a while."

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I think the day after tomorrow should work for lunch. Boys are leaving next week to play Croke Park. It's not too far away quite yet, but still."

"Yeah, sucks to be away from him for so long, I'm sure." She frowned sympathetically.

"It'll be fine, but yeah, we should catch up. How about that diner down the road? Noon on Wednesday?" I proposed.

 

\---

 

After cementing my plans with Michelle, I organized the children's section and started on my window display. Luke had finally given me free reign and with summer coming up, I'd decided to make a "Now a Major Motion Picture" display for all of the movies based on books both new and classic.

"Wait, Matilda is a book?" a girl around my age stopped to ask.

I resisted shooting her a look of disdain and forced a smile on my face. "Yeah, it's by Roald Dahl. The same guy that wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

"Oh," she replied and I was thankful that she didn't cement the idea that she didn't know Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was a book, too.

"Can I help you find anything?" I asked.

She shook her head and wandered towards the young adult section a few feet away.

"Excuse me, miss. I'm looking for the new One Direction book," a nasally voice came from behind me moments later. I rolled my eyes before turning, surprised to find my boyfriend standing there.

"What're you doing here? I've still got an hour 'til I get off."

He had a hoodie on that he was only pulling off because it was raining outside, but it was hiding his identity for the time being. I didn't want to push it, though.

"Shopping, obviously." He grinned, before returning to the nasally voice he'd been speaking with before. "Miss, my girlfriend's really into One Direction and I think she wants their new book."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't quite look like the type whose girlfriend would want a book about a boy band."

"Do you not like One Direction, miss?" His eyes were practically dancing as he smiled.

"Oh, no, I love 'em. They're great," I assured him, turning back to finish the last touches of my display.

I heard a gasp behind me and sighed as I guessed what it meant and sure enough, turning around, I watched the girl from earlier drop the book in her hand as she recognized Liam.

"Oh my god, can I get a picture?" she pleaded, rushing over to Liam's side. She didn't grab his arm or anything, so I'll give her that. He covered all his disappointment in being caught and nodded with a smile before putting his arm around her shoulders and leaning in for a selfie with her.

"Could you hold off on posting that for a bit, love?" he suggested, ever the charming gentleman.

"Of course," she nodded as if she would've jumped off a bridge if he'd only ask. "What are you doing here?" She blushed. "I mean - not to pry - but - "

Liam smiled. "Just shopping. Thought I'd check in on Riley while I was in the neighborhood."

The girl shot me a confused look before recognition dawned on her face. "Harry's girl."

I shot Liam a small glare. "Please don't announce to the fandom that I work here. I've managed to stay under the radar mostly and - "

Liam frowned. "Sorry - "

"Harry's been here before and never been spotted, you know," I told him with a exaggerated glare.

The girl chuckled. "Thanks for the picture," she told Liam before leaving.

"You better buy something and leave, too," I muttered to him as we watched her leave. "She's probably going to be watching the place."

"I doubt that," he insisted.

"You don't think she found it weird that you were here visiting Harry's girlfriend?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He stuttered and then frowned. "Fine."

"I highly recommend Pride and Prejudice," I told him, grabbing a book off of the display.

"Is this some kind of test?"

I shook my head as innocently as I could.

"Is it one of your favorite books?"

I nodded.

"Pride and Prejudice it is."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> confession: I'm still trying to decide whether they're going to have sex before he leaves for tour. So any thoughts on that... haha
> 
> Comments/kudos appreciated! Thanks for reading


	14. I Am Serious

"Did that girl come back?" Liam asked as I climbed into his car after work.

I shook my head.

"Sorry to blow your cover," he apologized, pulling away from the curb.

"It wasn't a cover," I insisted. "I don't think it'll be a problem, but I don't know. I feel like there's some fans that would stalk the girlfriend and a good portion that wouldn't. So I'm not sure what to expect."

"If they buy something while coming to ask you about Harry, at least you're bringing in business?" Liam suggested.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm sure Luke would be happy about that. What about you? Did she follow you?"

"Nah," he replied with a shake of his head. "I didn't see anybody."

"Where are you taking me?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I have a friend that works at a little restaurant nearby. He promised me a table."

"I hope this table is - "

"Tucked away in the corner, he said. I told him we were flying under the radar and he understood."

"I really doubt he understood. I mean, the implications of being caught - "

"Hey," Liam stopped me, reaching over to grab my hand. "We're not going to get caught. What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "It's just - that girl today. It got me nervous. What if she suspected something?"

"There are plenty of fans that believe that you and Harry are an item to convince her she's crazy."

"But if it gets back to Katherine - "

"I'll say I stopped by on my way to see Louis and Harry and happened to run into a fan."

I sighed. "Okay, you're right. I'm freaking out for nothing."

"Trust me. This is London, we can disappear here. Louis and Harry have been going on dates for years and haven't been caught."

 

\---

 

"This is really nice," I told Liam as our waiter left to get our drinks. The restaurant was on the smaller side and felt fancy, but not so much so that my jeans and blouse felt out of place. The lighting was low enough that you couldn't get a good look at anyone more than five feet away, which helped ease my nerves at being spotted together.

Liam just smiled and reached over to weave our fingers together on the table. He continued to watch me as I looked down at our hands and then back up at him.

"What?" I asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"I'm with the prettiest girl in the room. Just taking a moment to enjoy it," he replied.

I rolled my eyes and blushed slightly. "You can't even see the other girls in the room."

"I don't need to." His eyes remained on me, an intense stare that had me glancing down at our hands again. "I've got to commit this to memory. Tuck it away for when I'm away and missing you."

"That's what Skype is for," I reminded him. "And FaceTime. To see me whenever you want."

"Yeah, it's not the same as seeing you in person, though," he sighed. "Are you sure you won't just go on tour with us?" he pouted.

"I don't have the money to just travel with you guys without a job. And I know you guys would just let me, but I don't want to be the gold digger that's just living off of her boyfriend's money."

"I know. I had to fall for a girl that won't just let me take care of her."

"Liam - "

"No, you like having your own money - "

"I just - this is too new to be thinking like that. If we're still together in a year or two and you're leaving to go on tour again, which I'm sure you will be, it'd be a bit different. We'd be serious - "

"I am serious," Liam cut me off with a frown, pulling his hand away from mine.

"No, no, that's not what I meant - "

"Is this not serious for you?"

"Li, I just meant we haven't even been together for a  month. Committing to touring with you for months when we haven't been together very long is too much pressure to put on a relationship this new."

"And being hundreds of miles apart isn't?" he quirked an eyebrow at me. Well-played.

"Okay, yeah. You're right. It is. But I'm just not comfortable going on tour, okay? For now. Maybe when you guys go to America, I'll come for a few weeks or so, but - "

"Not the whole tour," he sighed.

I shook my head. "Not the whole tour."

 

\---

 

"You know it's just 'cause I'm gonna miss you, right?" Liam muttered, pressing a kiss to my hair as we walked out to his car. "I'm sorry I've been a little off tonight. I'm just realizing that I'm leaving in a few days and I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you, too. A lot. But you get why I can't go with you?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not gonna sleep with the first pretty girl that smiles at you while you're gone?"

Liam stopped to look at me. "No, babe, are you seriously worried about that?"

"No, I - " I stopped as my voice cracked slightly, giving away my insecurity, looking away from him.

"C'mon, get in the car," he muttered, pulling me the last few steps towards his car and holding the door for me as I climbed in. He walked around and climbed into the driver's side and started the car, quickly turning the radio off before turning towards me. "That's absolutely not something that you need to worry about, Riley."

I turned to face him, but refused to make eye contact as I stared at his shoulder instead of his face. "You could have anybody you want," I hesitantly replied.

He leaned in quickly and pressed his mouth to mine. It was a quick kiss, but as his tongue slid against mine, I could feel the desperation and want that he was trying to convey. He released his hold on my mouth, pressing another chaste kiss across my lips before speaking.

"I want you, baby. You're the only one that I want, okay? Nobody's gonna steal me away from you. I've been gone for you for months."

I took a deep breath. "Okay. It's just - "

His hand came up to stop my protests. "It's just nothing," he insisted. "I'm yours."

I blushed and pulled his hand away so that I could press a kiss to his lips. "Okay."

 

\---

 

"Good morning, love," Liam whispered, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

"What is - this?" I asked around a yawn as I stretched. He was holding a tray of food and moved to sit up against the headboard so he could sit it across my legs.

"Happy anniversary," he replied. "I convinced Paddy to get up early and bring us breakfast."

I smiled, softly. "Happy anniversary."

"One month." He grinned.

 

\---

 

"Have fun with Michelle," Liam told me with a quick kiss. "I'll see you tonight."

"Just a quiet dinner in," I reminded him. "We agreed."

He nodded. "I know, I know. I'm not planning anything." His small smirk gave him away but I rolled my eyes and left.

 

\---

 

"So when are you heading home?" Michelle asked over lunch.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by the question. We'd only just gotten our food at the diner. I didn't think she'd be in a rush to get rid of me.

"Harry's going on tour. You aren't staying here without him, are you?"

"I - uh - yeah, my job's here. I didn't see a need to move…"

"He's okay with you staying here?"

"We hadn't really talked about it, but he never said anything to the contrary," I replied, wondering if Louis and Harry were expecting me to go back to the states. They'd asked me to move in, but maybe they only meant for it to be temporary.

 

\---

 

"You guys are okay with me staying here, right? While you're gone?" I asked, watching Louis swallow a mouthful of pizza before answering. They were having a late lunch and I'd come home to change for my date with Liam; even if we were planning on staying in, I wanted to dress up. It was our anniversary, after all.

"Of course. We had you move in. Where would you go otherwise?" he asked.

"I dunno. Back home to the states? I like my job here and I love London but…"

"But what?" Harry asked, concerned.

"Michelle just - "

"Riley, ignore her. She doesn’t know anything," Louis cut me off. He'd become more and more wary of my friendship with the girl who worked at Modest! and wasn't afraid to show it.

"She's the only friend I've made in London outside of the band and people involved with the band that will all be away on tour," I reminded him.

"Well, make some new friends," he shrugged. "We've got a few days still before the show at Croke Park. We'll find you some friends."

I rolled my eyes. "Louis, I don't know that it's that simple to make friends."

"What about Ed? You've met him," Harry added, ignoring my comment.

"Another guy that is on tour and all over the world is not exactly going to help. Besides, I was just asking if you were okay with me staying here, I wasn't asking you to rally up some friends for me."

"Well, we don't want Michelle introducing you to people," Louis grumbled.

I sighed. "I really think you're overly suspicious of her."

"And I don't have any right to choose your friends, so I will continue to distrust her but it's not like I could forbid you from being friends with her," Louis replied. "Maybe if Liam - "

"My boyfriend is not going to forbid me from being friends with someone either."

Louis sighed. "Just be careful around her."

"She thinks Harry's my boyfriend. It's fine," I assured him.

 

\---

 

"Riley, your boyfriend's here," Louis called from the door. Liam had insisted on coming to pick me up from home, even though I'd spent more time at his place since we'd gotten back from South America.

"Coming!" I replied, quickly giving myself a onceover in the mirror, checking for any makeup smudges or flyaway hairs.

A whistle greeted me as I entered the living room and I chuckled as I saw Liam punch Louis's arm.

"You look beautiful," Liam murmured as I reached him, leaning in to press a kiss to my cheek.

"Now, Liam, you better have her home by dinnertime tomorrow, because we've got to have some quality time with our girl before we leave, too," Louis reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah." I rolled my eyes. "I'll be home."

"Where are you two kids off to?" Harry asked.

"We're just having dinner at Liam's," I told him. "I didn't want to deal with worrying about being seen."

"Riley, it's not that hard to disappear in London," Harry insisted with a frown.

I shot a look at Liam. "Yeah, I've heard that."

"Don't use that as an excuse to get the man alone," Louis smirked. "He's quite willing to have you to himself, I'm sure."

"Let's go," I pleaded, knowing that the teasing would only escalate if we didn't leave.

Liam chuckled. "They're right, you know."

I bit my lip. "Yeah, I know," I muttered, dragging him towards the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll be writing in a few new friends/coworkers for Riley while the boys are on tour, so if you comment with your name, I might just write you in. Just a thank you for my loyal readers, along with the fact that I hate trying to come up with names for characters! haha  
> Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Their one-month anniversary is coming up next chapter, well, the date portion of it anyways.  
> Comments/kudos tell me that you love me :)


	15. One Month

"You really do look beautiful tonight," Liam said for the umpteenth time that evening.

I smiled, gently squeezing his hand as we entered his kitchen.

"I convinced that new restaurant to let me get take out," he announced.

"I thought that chef wouldn't even let his food leave the restaurant."

"It took a little bribery, but I knew you were wanting to try it - "

"And you have to book a table months in advance."

"I know somebody who knows somebody who is married to the chef's sister," Liam explained. "And I might've promised the chef's daughter tickets to our show in a couple weeks."

I chuckled. "There are perks to dating a famous boybander."

He pulled out my chair for me and leaned in to kiss me as soon as I'd sat down. "These aren't perks enough?" he teased, kissing my cheek.

"You know I don't need any boybander perks. I've already got my two best friends for that." I grinned.

"Ah, yes, your other boyfriend and his boyfriend," Liam replied, uncovering the food before sitting down across from me.

"This looks delicious."

"It smells pretty great," Liam agreed.

We both took a few bites of the food in front of us in silence.

"I can't believe you got this as take-out. No wonder the chef is so adamant that you come into the restaurant. I'd probably never want to leave."

"I think I could convince you to leave."

I shook my head as I swallowed another bite. "Nope. This is delicious. Nothing could compare."

"Wait 'til you see what's on the schedule for dessert."

"Dessert?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

He blushed slightly. "I'd be all for that kind of dessert, but I'm talking of the chocolate variety."

I hummed, a small smile crossing my lips. "Like our first date?"

"You mean that friend date that you spent the whole time seducing me?"

"I was not seducing you!" I grinned.

His eyebrow lifted in an accusatory way as his pupils dilated. "I've been dreaming of pulling those sounds from you without the baked goods involved."

My cheeks flushed as I looked down at my plate with a bashful smile.

"And the way you were licking your fork. It was obscene, I swear."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I insisted, despite my colored cheeks and inability to look him in the eye.

"Uh-huh. Sure you don't," he replied and I looked up to see his eyes were practically dancing as he teased me. "It was like you weren't sure if I really liked you."

"I wasn't sure. I mean, there's liking a person and then there's being willing to be in a secret relationship with someone. It's kind of a different level of affection."

"And then there's proposing a threesome with my band mate. Is that another level of affection or is that just every girl's dream?" He'd abandoned his food for the moment, studiously watching my every reaction.

"I imagine there are many many girls that dream of a Ziam threesome."

"'A Ziam threesome,' really?"

I grinned. "You two have shippers. Like, not as many as Larry, obviously, but there are people that think you two are together. I have wondered myself."

"You've wondered what exactly?" he asked, surprised.

"What you and Zayn's relationship is and has been and such."

Liam just looked at me, not quite refusing to answer, but unsure what it was I was asking.

"You two have kissed?"

He nodded, hesitantly.

"Have you done anything more than kiss?" I asked, suddenly wondering if I really wanted to know the answer.

"Snogged a bit," he confessed after a moment's pause. "I mean, it was just a lonely thing, ya know? We were on the road and it kind of just happened."

"A long time ago? Or...?" I bit my lip, nervous for the answer.

"It's happened a couple times every tour, about." He paused and then caught the look on my face. "Won't be happening this tour. It's never been when I was with anyone. It's never been cheating."

"What about Perrie?"

"They…have an agreement of sorts. And it's never gone very far."

"Okay..."

"We're just friends."

"Okay."

"Can I ask you something?" he reached across the table for my hand and I laced our fingers together, nodding. "Have you ever been in love?"

I looked down at our hands. "I think I might be falling in love with you," I admitted. "I've thought I was in love before, but it never felt quite like this."

"I'm falling for you. I think I've been falling for you since I met you."

"You didn't even remember meeting me!" I reminded him. "Harry was the only one that remembered me."

"Well, I just meant it's been happening for so long that I don't remember when it started. I was just suddenly in the middle."

I smiled, squeezing his hand. "Yeah, I wish I would've realized sooner. It was just too good to be true in my mind."

"You're too good to be true."

I rolled my eyes.

 

\---

 

"You didn't have to get me anything," I insisted as he pulled out a small jewelry box.

"I know. I wanted to." He popped the lid open, revealing a silver necklace with a diamond-studded heart.

I gasped. "It's beautiful. You shouldn't have - "

"I wanted to, baby," he repeated, taking it out of the box and helping me put it on. I pressed a kiss to his lips as soon as it was in place.

"Thank you," I told him, pulling him into a quick hug. "I got you something, too. It's not - well, it's - " I stopped myself and just walked over to my bag to pull out the simply wrapped flat package.

He smiled as I handed it to him and pulled the wrapping paper off to reveal a framed drawing of the two of us. "Did you draw this?" he asked, fingers coming up to brush across the glass as he studied it.

"Yeah, I hoped you might like it. I didn't really know what to get - "

"I love it," he cut me off, pressing a kiss to my lips before walking over to set it on the coffee table. "You're very talented."

"I'm not that great, but I'm glad you like it."

His lips pressed against mine again, hands coming up to settle upon my waist, pulling me closer against him. "I love it," he muttered against my lips before his tongue swept across my bottom lip. My hands gripped his shoulders as he pushed me back towards his couch. The back of my knees hit the cushions and I sat down, leaning back, pulling him with me. I could feel almost every inch of him as his tongue slid against mine. His hand moved up to my chest, lightly massaging my left boob through my dress. I absentmindedly kicked off my heels and as I squirmed slightly against him, he groaned slightly. His mouth moved to kiss his way down my neck and along the low cut cleavage of my dress as I gasped and sighed under his attention.

"Li." His name came out of my mouth in a plea. His movements paused for the slightest of moments and I started to glance down at him just as his hand pushed the fabric of my dress aside and his mouth returned to mine as his thumb slowly began circling the newly revealed nipple.

"Riley?" Liam muttered, his mouth moving to suck a mark into my shoulder.

"Y-yeah?" I stuttered back.

"That dress would look even better on the floor."

I gasped as his fingers lightly pinched  my nipple. "Not - tonight, babe."

He hummed his acquiescence and lightly bit at the mark he'd sucked into my shoulder before kissing his way down to flick his tongue across my nipple as my hands flew to his hair, pulling him in closer. I heard a small chuckle escape his lips before he slid his tongue across again. I squirmed underneath him and felt him hard against my thigh. He thrust lightly against the slight friction before taking a deep breath and pulling away to sit up.

"We better stop."

I pouted.

"You said - "

"I know."

"Go put something that's not sexy on," he told me and I could tell he was trying to will his erection down.

"Go."

He shot me a confused look.

"Go take a shower or whatever you need to do right now." I pulled my dress back up and leaned in to press a kiss to his cheek. I'll go get ready for bed in the guest bath."

He bit his lip, pondering his next inquiry. "You could join me."

I took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as I studied him. "Is that wise?"

"I think we could handle it."

"'Cause we're handling making out on the couch so well?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"C'mon," he pleaded, taking my hand to pull me towards his bedroom. "We don't have to go all the way."

"We are not having sex in the shower," I insisted.

He shook his head. "Shower sex is not how our first time is going to go. Way too much risk of slipping and falling."

"Definitely."

"We'll get cleaned up and then head to bed."

"I think you're gonna need to take care of that," I added, gesturing towards his crotch.

He ignored me, pulling me into the bathroom. "Do you need help with the zipper?" he asked, gesturing towards my dress.

"'Cause you'd be all too willing to help?" I smirked before reaching back to take off the necklace and then unzipping the dress myself.

He grinned, pulling his shirt off over his head before turning the shower on, letting the water warm up. Liam quickly pulled off his socks and unbuttoned his pants, watching as I let my dress fall to the floor as I pushed the straps off my shoulders. He paused as his eyes explored the newly revealed skin and I blushed, crossing my arms nervously under his gaze. His pants were pushed down and he stepped out of them, coming over to press a kiss to my lips and uncross my arms.

"You're gorgeous," he whispered, kissing me again as his hands came up to unhook my bra and slowly pull it off of me.

"Says the underwear model," I muttered, trying to keep myself from crossing my arms as he slowly looked me over.

"Nah, I think I'd like to see you model some underwear," he replied, pushing his boxers down and off. His erection sprang free and I tried not to stare. I was clearly unsuccessful as he smirked and quipped. "Approve?"

I blushed looking away and distracting myself by checking the water temperature of the shower before quickly pushing off my panties and stepping into the shower. "Coming?"

He quickly joined me, shutting the shower door behind us. He pulled me in close to him, licking his way into my mouth as the water sprayed against our side. His hands skimmed up and down my sides as my hands slid into his hair, enjoying the easy slide of our mouths.

"Shower," I insisted after a few moments, dragging myself a few inches away from him.

He reached for my bottle of body wash and a washcloth. "Can I?" he asked.

I nodded, despite my brain screaming that it probably wasn't a great idea in the grand scheme of resisting him.

He let some of the hot water fill the washcloth before squirting a bit of soap onto it and rubbing it together. He started at my neck, bidding me to turn around as he carefully pulled my hair out of the way as he washed my neck and shoulders, lightly massaging as he went. Down my back and a light squeeze of my butt before turning me back around with a small grin as he ran the washcloth over, around, and under my boobs and across my stomach. He smirked at the small gasps that escaped my mouth as he touched me all over, moving down between my thighs (my hand curled into his hair in my attempt to keep my knees from giving out) and on down my legs. Then he kissed a trail from my left kneecap up to my bellybutton, across my chest and with a final press to my lips, his tongue slid into my mouth as he moved me to step back, further under the stream of water in order to rinse off.

"I don't know if this was a good idea," I muttered as he reached up to massage my scalp with his fingers, making sure to get my hair completely wet.

He smirked. "Whatever could you mean?"

"I just - I can't - not - " I choked up, slightly. "Not with you leaving in a couple days."

He paused. "No, baby, this isn't me trying to get you to do anything else. I just thought this might help us relax. Get more comfortable with each other. Don't think I'm trying anything."

"I didn't mean - I know you wouldn't." I kissed him. "I just wanted you to understand."

"I know you're not ready," he assured me. "It's fine."

I sighed and nodded. "Thank you."

"You don't need to thank me." He reached for the shampoo and squirted some into his hand before massaging it into my hair.

"I love having somebody else wash my hair," I sighed.

"You should've asked me to do it before now," he teased.

"If I had known you were this good, I would have."

"Just wait. You've no idea the skills I have," he whispered into my ear.

I hummed as he gently moved me back under the water to rinse. "My turn?" I asked, reaching for the washcloth.

"Only if you want," he assured me.

I grinned. "Oh, I do."

I followed the same path he'd led across my body and was pleased to find he had sensitive nipples. His cock was still erect and I finally felt the need to comment.

"I didn't really believe you were ten-inch Payne."

"I'm not really sure exactly how that got out, but yeah."

"Definitely nothing to be ashamed of if you know how to use it." I avoided his eyes, crouching down to wash his legs.

"Trust me, I know how to use it," he replied, looking down at me. I finally looked up at him and saw a flash of something cross his eyes.

"I have the worst gag reflex," I insisted. "Don't get any ideas."

He chuckled. "You're the one on your knees."

I stood and prodded him closer to the water to rinse.

"We'll work on my gag reflex another day," I conceded, reaching for the shampoo.

"Sounds fun," he replied, still watching me as my cheeks flushed slightly. "We should - uh - finish up if you're not gonna let me - "

I cleared my throat, breaking eye contact with him as I reached up to wash his hair, blushing all the while. His hands skimmed down my back to get a handful of my ass in each hand. I tilted his head back to rinse the soap away and pressed a brief kiss to his neck. "I - not tonight," I whispered.

I didn't want to rush into anything and we'd already done more than I'd originally intended. The knowledge that he was leaving in a few short days was making it a lot harder to resist, but I didn't want to regret anything with him.

He nodded, pulling his hands away as he turned the water off. I slid the shower door open and carefully stepped out, reaching for a towel. He followed and grabbed a towel of his own, quickly drying off and wrapping it around his waist before sauntering off to the closet without a word. I bit my lip, nervous that I'd pressed him too far this time. I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out into his bedroom to grab pajama pants and a t-shirt out of my bag. I glanced nervously towards the closet, before returning to the bathroom to quickly change. Just as I was about to work on getting the tangles out of my hair, he appeared behind me in the mirror.

"Let me?" he asked, pulling the brush from my hand. I watched him in the mirror as he carefully worked the brush through my hair, careful not to pull too hard when it hit a snag.

"My emotions are all over the place with you leaving in a few days," I admitted, quietly. He nodded. "And I just don't want to feel like we rushed into anything just because we're going to be apart so much."

Liam nodded again, running the brush through my hair a final time before looking up at me in the mirror. "Don't worry about it, babe," he assured me. "You said you wanted to be in love before we have sex. We may be on our way there, but neither of us are ready to say it yet. Don't ever be afraid of telling me to stop."

"Okay," I replied as his fingers slipped through mine and squeezed.

"You are more beautiful than I imagined," he whispered into my ear, watching my face flush in the mirror.

"Happy anniversary," I murmured back with a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Officially lost my beta, so this won't be beta'd from here on out. I'm pretty decent at editing myself, but if you catch anything really bazaar, please let me know haha  
> Sorry for the pure torture of this chapter. Okay, not really sorry because this was way fun to write, but I can imagine you're sitting there waving your fists in frustration that they didn't actually do anything... :)
> 
> Comments/kudos keep me going!  
> (Oh, and if you're reading my other sequel, sorry I didn't update it yesterday, I think I'm going to cut back to just updating on Thursdays for the holiday season because I've got a lot going on and its at this awkward place for me, so I'll post Thursday for sure!)


	16. A Good Balance

"Are you excited? It's a stadium tour, I mean, that's huge," I asked, not even needing to look up at his face to know that he was smiling.

"It's incredible…more than I could've imagined," he admitted, absentmindedly running his fingers through my hair.

"What's the best thing that's happened so far? Since X-Factor, what's the best thing that's happened?"

"You," he admitted, switching to whisper as if he didn't know if I'd want to hear it.

I pulled away from him enough to look into his eyes, slightly surprised to find him looking so earnestly back into mine. "It's only been - "

"I know," he cut me off. "I just - I can't imagine life without you." He paused, rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath. "God, it sounds so cheesy, I know."

I hesitated a moment before letting out a small chuckle. "It's - um, pretty intense."

"I'm not trying to freak you out. God, I'm so not trying to get all intense on you. I just - there's been a lot of great things the last couple years. You are one of them."

I leaned in and pressed a kiss to his lips. "You're sweet."

"I mean it."

"I know. And I don't want to overanalyze this. I mean, you've had a great - amazing couple years and for you to say that is just…"

"Intense."

I nodded.

"It is still our anniversary. I'm allowed to be sappy."

I grinned. "That you are."

 

\---

 

"How was your anniversary? Romantic and sappy? Hot and heated?" Louis teased when I arrived home the next day.

I smiled. "A good balance of both."

"Oh?" Harry wiggled his eyebrows at me. "Do we have stories to swap yet?"

I blushed. "Who said I was planning on swapping stories?"

"Sharing is caring."

I giggled. "We didn't - "

Louis covered his ears. "No, no, I don't want to know." He took off into the kitchen, loudly humming.

Harry smirked. "Go on…"

"We just took a shower together."

"And?"

"He's really good washing my hair?"

Harry frowned at me. "Riley, that's all you're going to give me?"

"We didn't - we didn't go all the way. I told him I'm still not ready and I just can't take that step when he's about to leave."

"He took a shower with you and didn't have sex with you?"

"Yeah."

"Wow."

"What?"

"I'm just impressed with his self-control."

I rolled my eyes and slapped his shoulder. "Just because you and Louis don't have any - "

"Hey! We do, too. We just choose not to use it," he replied with an amused little smile.

"Right."

"Once you two start you won't stop either. Probably a good idea not to let him have the goods before he heads off on tour. He wouldn't be able to concentrate," Harry teased.

"Shut up."

 

\---

 

You sure you don't want to come back to mine?

I'm currently cuddled between 2 boys, watching The Notebook.

& we're eating ice cream

This might be paradise.

Is that a no?

;)

Miss you.

Have fun with your boys.

Will do. Be thankful I'm not making you watch The Notebook.

I doubt you were the one who suggested The Notebook.

Well..no, but that doesn't mean I won't be a sobbing mess by the end.

 

\---

 

"When do the boys leave?" Michelle asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Day after tomorrow."

"How will you handle being away from your man for so long?" Her face fell into a sympathetic frown.

"We'll FaceTime a lot and texts and calls and - " I took a deep breath, trying to shrug it off. "It'll be fine. It's only a few weeks 'til the London shows. He's not going to be that far away yet."

"You won't be in the same bed every night, though."

I sighed. "Yeah. The woes of dating a world-famous boy-bander."

"You seem to have a pretty strong relationship, though."

"Yeah - Harry and I are best friends, too, so it's a solid foundation, I guess, you know?" I replied, making sure to replace Liam's name with Harry's. She still didn't know I was only Harry's beard and with Louis's trust issues with her, I didn't plan on telling her any time soon.

"I don't think I could do it. Being harassed by fans all the time and being separated for a large chunk of the time as well?" She cringed. "It doesn't seem like it'd be worth it."

"He makes it worth it." I smiled.

 

\---

 

"You know you still have to be careful, right? Even when we're in London?" Louis reminded me.

"What're you talking about?" I asked around a mouthful of Cheerios.

"You've been spending a lot of time over there - I know we're about to leave, but you're getting comfortable and I don't want you to let your guard down. There are still people that randomly show up and stalk our houses and shit. You don't want to be seen kissing on Liam's front step or anything."

"We don't put on a show for the neighborhood," I replied with a chuckle. "We don't even go out that much. It's easier to just hang out at his place or here."

"You haven't hung out with him here this entire break."

"Well, I was trying to split my time between him and you guys. And when I was with you two, he was usually spending time with his friends and whatever that don't even know about me."

"He hasn't told his friends?"

"Andy knows, but he's not spreading it around anymore than I am. I'm supposed to be with Harry, remember?"

Louis rolled his eyes. "Of course. How could I forget?"

"Speaking of which, I'm going out with Harry tonight - at Katherine's insistence. It's gonna be the whole goodbye dinner bit. I'm sure she's informed some reporters where we'll be. Wants to get in a bit of publicity with the two of us before you leave in the morning."

"What about Liam?" Louis studied me over his bowl of frosted flakes.

"I'm going over there after the date with Harry and Liam's bringing me back here in the morning before you and him head to the airport. Harry and Niall are still flying separately, right?"

He nodded. "They're trying to spread out our arrival in hopes that it'll help with security issues or something."

 

\---

 

The restaurant he'd chosen for our date was owned by a friend of his, so he was trying to give it a bit of publicity. There were a couple photographers outside along with a cameraman and a few fans, all eagerly watching us through the window. It wasn't a large restaurant and there wasn't a lot of privacy no matter where you were sitting, so naturally we were sitting right next to the window.

"We've got quite the audience," Harry murmured. He'd insisted we both sit on the same side of the booth, so he'd had his arm around me the entire evening.

"They can sit back and enjoy the show," I replied, leaning in to press a kiss to his lips. His tongue hesitantly slid across my bottom lip before deepening the kiss as he pulled me closer to him. In the interest of keeping everyone's relationships safe because of all the contracts that were involved at this point, we were going to play it up a bit tonight to ease people's minds. Louis and Harry were ready to come out of the closet, but Modest! was not going to allow it any time soon, so we were trying to make it look like we were still fully cooperative with the beard contract.

The waiter cleared his throat, awkwardly looking away. Harry chuckled as we pulled apart.

"David wanted me to let you know that there is a back door if you are interested in using it," he said.

Harry looked to me for my answer.

"Let's take it," I agreed.

 

\---

 

"Hey, babe," I said as soon as Liam answered his door, leaning in to kiss him 'hello' immediately.

He turned his head and cleared his throat, shooting Harry an awkward look.

Harry glanced between us nervously for a moment before shrugging at me. "I'll see you in the morning, Riley."

"Alright, see ya."

Liam stepped back to let me further into the house before closing the door behind me.

"Is something wrong?" I hesitantly asked.

Liam ignored the question. "Wanna watch a movie?"

"I'd rather just talk to you, since you're leaving in the morning."

He nodded, walking into his living room and sitting down on the couch, waiting for me to join him.

"What's wrong?" I repeated the question.

He shook his head. "It's nothing."

I sat down next to him, moving to give him a quick kiss. He hesitated and I stopped. "Something is wrong. Why won't you let me kiss you?"

"I just - " He let out a frustrated sigh before pulling his phone out of his pocket, hitting a few buttons and then holding it out to me. It was a video from Harry and I's date.

"Why were you watching this?" I asked, nervous about where this conversation was leading.

"You two were trending because of this. I got curious." He gestures back to the phone, hitting the play button. It was a decently high-quality video of us through the window. I watched as Harry whispered something in my ear before I smiled and replied before pressing a kiss to his lips. Harry's hand that had been on my shoulder moved to grip my arm as we kissed, my hands moving up to his chest and shoulders. I could see the moment that Harry had licked his way into my mouth and blushed as I watched the waiter walk up.

I bit my lip, nervously looking over at Liam. "We figured it would keep Katherine off our backs for a bit." I shrugged.

"You didn't think it was a little much?"

"It was just - "

"I'd rather not watch my mate's tongue slipping into my girl's mouth, Riley." He'd seemed a bit upset before, but now the words took on an icy edge.

"Then don't look up these stupid videos! It's all just a show, babe, you know that." I was frustrated, not just with him, but with myself for letting my guard down. He'd said he was fine with it, but apparently he wasn't.

"It doesn't mean I like it!"

"Are we seriously having a fight about this?"

"You didn't think I'd care?" he exclaimed.

"No! I didn't!"

"Why the fuck not?"

I pushed off of the couch, standing up to move away from him. "Because it's all pretend with him. I thought you understood that."

"Yeah, it's all fake and you can snog him in a restaurant like its no big deal while I'm about to leave tomorrow and you're still afraid to let me touch you."

"Seriously?!" I couldn't believe this was his argument. "This is about the fact that we haven't had sex?"

"No, this is me trying to understand why my girlfriend expects me to be able to kiss her when I know that an hour ago she had another guy's tongue in her mouth."

I threw my hands up in frustration before turning and walking away, thinking a hot shower might cool my anger with him.

"You're just gonna walk away?" I heard him growl in frustration.

I turned back to glare at him. "I think you need to cool off just as much as I do before either one of us say something we're going to regret. You're leaving tomorrow and I'd rather resolve this tonight than trying to fix things after you've left."

He muttered something unintelligible and I continued my walk towards his room and the connecting bathroom.

 

\---

 

"I've brushed my teeth. Twice," I announced as soon as he joined me in the bedroom a half hour later.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"I just thought I'd throw that out there. You didn't seem happy with kissing me after Harry, so I've brushed my teeth."

He was silent as he walked over to sit on the edge of the bed.

"You could've just said that you didn't like it and you'd prefer it if we'd cooled it off for a while," I told him.

"I've never been cheated on - "

"I am not cheating on you!"

He placed a hand on my leg and shook his head. "No, that's not what I'm saying, babe," he insisted. "I think - and correct me if I'm wrong - part of the reason that you're hesitant to take our relationship any further is because your ex cheated on you."

I looked away from him, nervously biting my lip as I nodded.

"And I don't know what that's like, but I know that it bothers me how good at playing the perfect couple you and Harry are."

"I have the full permission of his boyfriend and I know its not going anywhere beyond kissing. It's easy. He's an attractive guy and he's a good kisser."

Liam frowned, looking away from me.

"But - " I took his hand in mine and threaded our fingers together. "It's only easy because it's not real. I don't have to worry about how I'll feel about things later. I don't have to worry about him cheating on me, because I know he's ridiculously in love with Louis. It's easy because it's fake. He's my best friend and we're putting on a show for the rest of the world. You, on the other hand, are attractive and a great kisser and you could hurt me." I could feel the tears at the corners of my eyes and blinked them away.

He finally looked up at me. "Baby, I won't - "

"That's easy to say right now - "

"No, baby, I'm not going to hurt you. Not intentionally. And if I do hurt you, I deserve anything you throw at me." His thumb brushed across my cheek, catching a tear that had managed to escape. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sorry. He screwed me up. I thought I'd get over it, but it's just - it's not - "

"He hurt you. I just want you to see that I'm not him. He's an idiot. You deserve so much better than him."

I took a deep breath, trying to will away the tears in my eyes.

"I'm gonna give you a second, okay? And then we can just cuddle and talk."

I nodded as he squeezed my hand before standing and shuffling over to the bathroom.

 

\---

 

"You should always text me goodnight."

I smiled. "The time-zone will be all wonky and we won't even be going to sleep at the same time."

"It doesn't matter. I want to talk every day and I want a goodnight text. What do you want?"

"A million dollars."

"I'm serious," Liam insisted.

"So am I!" I chuckled. "Everyone would like to have a million dollars."

He laughed. "Well, someday, if we get married, I'll make sure you get to be a millionaire, too, alright?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "I want to talk every day that we can, even if its just a quick five minute conversation."

He nodded.

"And I want you to send me pictures - lots of pictures."

He lifted an eyebrow at me. "Pictures?"

I slapped his shoulder. "Not like that. Well - " I blushed. "I wouldn’t be too opposed to those, but I just want pictures of the stuff you see and pictures of the other boys - catch Louis and Harry being adorable. The only thing that puts a smile on my face as much as you is watching the way those two love each other."

"Okay, I can do that."

"Skype sex is so not happening before we have actual sex."

He coughed, choking on his laughter. "Where did that come from?"

"You're the one that took the pictures comment wrong."

"What about phone sex?" he asked.

"I've never done it before."

He just grinned. "I'll take that as a maybe."

I blushed.

"Are you opposed to presents?"

"You don't need to spend money on me."

"I'm not talking huge presents, necessarily. I'm just asking if you'd be bothered by me buying you things."

I shrugged. "I just don't want you spending a lot of money on me unnecessarily. If its something that you want to do, then its fine."

"Who doesn't love presents?" he teased.

"I just don't want you to ever think any ounce of my interest in you has to do with you being rich."

"I know that's not why you're with me, baby," he assured me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/kudos appreciated! She'll be making new friends/acquaintances next chapter! :)


	17. The First Day

"I'll call as soon as I get a chance after I've landed," Liam assured me.

I nodded. "Be safe."

He pulled me into a hug, pressing a kiss to the top of my head. "I'll miss you."

"It's not that long. I'll see you in a couple weeks," I reminded him, trying to hold myself together. "I'll miss you, too."

"Liam, we've gotta go," Louis hesitantly interrupted our farewells.

"I'll see you in a couple weeks, baby." He leaned in a pressed a kiss to my lips before squeezing my hand and heading out to the car.

Louis gave me a quick hug. "I'll miss you."

"Yeah, call me. And look after him."

Louis acquiesced. "Will do," he replied with a grin before turning to give Harry a quick kiss. "See you in a few hours, love."

"Yep, see you soon," Harry agreed.

 

\---

 

"They've all left this morning. You're the only friend I've got in London now."

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Guess you'll have to make some more friends."

"That’s what Harry said," I pouted.

"We could go out tonight, if you want. Distract you from facing that empty bed."

I frowned. "Yeah, that'd be good."

"I'll invite a few friends of mine, introduce you around a bit."

"Okay, just don't tell them I'm dating Harry Styles. I don't want to deal with the questions tonight."

She dipped her head in agreement.

 

\---

 

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

"Hey, baby," Liam's voice greeted me.

"Hi," I sighed, ridiculously happy to hear his voice. I rolled my eyes at myself - it'd only been a couple hours.

"We just got to the hotel. There's a ton of screaming girls outside, so I think we're in for the evening," he told me.

"How was your flight?"

"Comfortable. Short. Harry and Niall are supposed to be getting here pretty soon. How's your day, love?"

I grinned. "I'm actually staring at my closet trying to decide what to wear tonight."

"Oh? Where are you going?"

"Out with Michelle and some of her friends. Trying to meet new people and all, ya know."

Liam hummed. "That'll be good."

"Since all my friends and boyfriend are hours away from me now, yeah."

Liam chuckled. "Just don't get drunk."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"I've seen how you are when you're drunk, remember? You're way too adorable - someone'll steal you away from me."

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn't see me. "No one's going to be stealing me, Li."

A couple notes came humming across the line.

"What was that?" I asked, not recognizing the tune.

"Nothing. I just had an idea for a song."

"Am I your new muse?" I teased.

"You know it."

 

\---

 

"Riley, this is Jordan and that's Melany," Michelle introduced me to two pretty dark-haired girls. "Girls, this is my friend, Riley." She had to shout over the music to be heard, but both girls nodded and smiled. One of them, Jordan, I think, did a little awkward wave with her fingers.

"Nice to meet you," I shouted back. "How do you all know each other?"

"We work at Modest!," the one I thought was Jordan replied. "Melany's a receptionist and I'm a PA."

I nodded. "You like it there?"

Melany shrugged, rolling her eyes.

"Let's grab a couple drinks and a table," Michelle suggested before gesturing at me. "This one needs a bit of alcohol before you can get her to dance."

They both chuckled as I smacked Michelle's shoulder. We pushed our way through the crowd and had drinks and a table in no time.

"The bartender seemed to like you," Melany teased Jordan.

Jordan blushed, slightly. "Whatever."

"He's cute," Michelle insisted.

"It's supposed to be girls' night," Jordan replied, taking a sip of her pink drink.

I lifted my own pink drink to toast. "To girls' night."

Jordan shot me a thankful look as I took the attention away from her as we all clinked glasses and grinned.

"So you're not looking, either?" Melany turned to ask me.

I rolled my eyes. "Nope. Taken."

"Oh? Do tell," Melany insisted.

I grinned. "He's tall, dark, and very easy on the eyes."

"Sounds dreamy."

"Oh, he is," I assured her with a laugh, taking a sip of my drink.

Jordan abandoned the straw, downing her drink. "Are we gonna dance or what?" she asked.

I took another tentative sip of my drink and felt a tap on my shoulder as I saw all three girls' eyes widen. I slowly turned to find a ginger-haired prince grinning at me. I smiled back, leaning in to give Ed a hug.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"Dancing!" he replied with a laugh. "What else?"

I rolled my eyes. "Drinking," I replied, lifting my glass.

"Join me?" he proposed, offering me his hand.

"Care to meet my friends first?" I asked, noting their faces were still in a state of shock.

He nodded.

"Melany, Jordan, Michelle," I pointed each of them out to him. "This is my friend, Ed."

"I'm - I'm a huge fan," Melany told him, offering her hand to shake. He grinned, lightly shaking it.

"Thanks, babe."

The other two quickly complimented him as well before he started tugging me towards the dance floor, gesturing for them to follow. I downed my drink before we'd left the table and followed him with a huge grin. He slipped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me in close so I could hear him over the music.

"How's Harry?" he asked.

"He's good. They just left this morning," I replied. "Thought you were on tour?"

"Bit of a break at the moment," Ed explained. "Enjoying a night out with some lads."

"And dumping them for me?" I asked.

"Dumping them for a pretty girl? Absolutely."

"A pretty girl that's taken."

"Only in the eye of the public."

I shook my head. "Nah, actually taken."

He quirked an eyebrow at me with a small grin. "Which of the boys snapped you up?"

I giggled, shaking my head. "We're keeping it quiet. Still with Haz and all."

"That's working out to be a right mess, love."

"Probably," I agreed, sadly.

"I'm sure it'll work out."

We reached the crowded dance floor and dropped our conversation as he took my hands and we started to move to the music. I noticed the other girls were whisper-shouting amongst themselves, shooting us looks. Michelle even whipped out her phone and took a picture of the two of us dancing. I glared over at her and shook my head, knowing how easily the picture could be misconstrued. She laughed and put the phone away as a tall dark-haired man pulled her in to dance with him.

 

\---

 

"How - do you - know \- him?" Jordan forced the words out as we stumbled down the road. Michelle had gone home with tall-dark-and-cute and Melany had taken off with a pretty, petite girl who had been giggling with her all night.

I started laughing. No reason, really. I was drunk, okay? Jordan and I were both drunk and had decided I'd stay at her place for the night instead of either of us going home alone.

Jordan reached out and slapped my shoulder, lost her balance, and almost face-planted on the sidewalk. I giggled some more.

"Tell me," she pleaded. "That was fucking Ed Sheeran."

"Yeah," I said, widening my eyes at her. "It was."

Then Jordan started giggling and we couldn't even look at each other because we could barely catch our breath.

Somehow, we made it up the stairs and into her flat, collapsing into her bed after drinking a huge glass of water each. Well, most of a glass of water - the giggling uncontrollably led to some spewing and choking before we finished.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, yeah, I randomly decided to bring Ed in to stir up some stuff...
> 
> Also, bringing in Jordan and Melany, so I hope you two are happy with your roles so far! :)
> 
> Comments/kudos appreciated! I'll plan to post again next Thursday!


	18. Not a Good Start

"Oh my god," I mumbled as I woke up, blearily staring up at a ceiling that wasn't my own. A momentary panic shocked me fully awake before I saw Jordan laying next to me, still asleep.

I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom, peeing before attempting to quietly find something for my headache. I found a bottle of Ibuprofen and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water.

Jordan found me a few minutes later, muttering something about it being too bright in the room. We were both still in our dresses from the night before and they were looking worse for wear after having slept in them.

After she'd sat down at the kitchen table, laying her head down next to her glass of water, I finally spoke. "Could I borrow some sweats to get home?"

She waved me back towards the bedroom with one hand. "Yeah, take whatever."

I walked back into her bedroom, grabbing my phone off of the bedside table on my way towards her closet. My phone was dead. I mumbled a silent prayer to the powers-that-be that Liam hadn't been trying to contact me. That'd be a great start to a long-distance relationship, it being the first morning and all.

 

 

An hour later, I'd made it home with promises to meet Jordan for lunch in a few days. I'd stopped for donuts, because I knew the empty house would make me sad and sweets would distract me. I plugged my phone in in the kitchen and fixed myself a glass of milk while waiting for it to come on. It started buzzing away with text messages and a few missed calls after a few minutes. It was a little past noon, so I wasn't entirely surprised, although I felt bad as I realized that one of Liam's messages said they were going to be busy this afternoon and he wouldn't be free to talk until dinner or after their show. Liam had called twice and Harry had called once. I sat down at the table and started to read the messages I had missed.

 

Liam:

_I guess you're still out with your friends. Hope you're having a great time._

_I miss you._

_Good morning, beautiful._

_I just wanted to hear your voice before we step into these interviews. We've got stuff all afternoon. I'll try again at dinner._

 

Harry:

_Liam said you're going out tonight. Don't do anything I wouldn't do ;)_

_Hey, call me as soon as you get this._

 

Louis:

_Riley, you might want to check the news._

 

Zayn:

_You better not have done something stupid._

 

I squinted down at the last one, confused. I texted Liam a quick 'sorry I missed you :( just made it home' and then pulled up Twitter on my phone. I had a lot of notifications, but that's the way it had been since I'd started being Harry's beard. I ignored them, checking the trending topics. Only three of them appeared to related to the band, but didn't really explain what was going on.

 

_#WeStillLoveYouHarry_

_#LouisWouldntDoThis_

_1D come to Australia_

 

Liam's response came up before I could look into it further.

 

_Made it home from where?_

**_A friend's. we were both a bit drunk last night_ **

 

He didn't respond to that and I shrugged it off, assuming he was busy like he'd said he would be. I went back to Twitter and started scrolling through my notifications. Lots of 'you don't deserve him's that were the usual, unfortunately, mixed with a few 'can you tell Harry to…'s. Then I found it. Somebody had linked to the article with the hashtag #LouisWouldntDoThis. I clicked the link and began to read.

 

**_Ed Sheeran spotted with Haz's girl?!_ **

_Last night, the ginger prince himself was spotted at The Funky Buddha dancing, drinking, and having a good time. We didn't even realize he was back in town! He was seen whispering into a lucky lady's ear before they were seen dancing together for most of the night. Pictures were quickly leaked online and lo-and-behold, that's not just any girl - that's Harry Styles's girlfriend. Harry and the rest of One Direction left only yesterday morning to begin their On The Road Again tour in Ireland._

 

I stopped reading, skimming through to the attached pictures with a feeling of dread. Someone had gotten one of us from the back when he'd had his arm around me on the way to the dance floor - my face wasn't visible, but Ed's was lit up with a grin as he looked at me. Another showed us taking shots together - again, my face wasn't visible. The only picture that showed my face was one of us dancing, we were very close together and I could see how everyone might think there was something going on.

I took a deep breath, trying not to freak out. Liam still hadn't responded, so I went ahead and messaged again.

 

**_Just saw the article/pics. I swear it's not what it looks like. Nothing happened._ **

 

I called Harry, expecting to get voicemail, since they were supposed to be in interviews all day, but he answered after a few rings.

"Hey, baby." Which told me that he was surrounded by people who knew it was me on the phone.

"Hey, I just saw the pictures."

"Yeah?"

"You know it's stupid. I'd never cheat on my boyfriend," I told him.

"You mean you're not having an elicit affair with one of my friends while I'm out on tour?" he teased.

I grinned. "We just ran into each other. He wanted to dance. I went with it. It didn't seem like a bad idea at the time. I didn't expect people to be snapping pictures."

"You should know better than that."

I sighed. "Yeah. Aren't you supposed to be in an interview?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, but I knew they'd let me step away if it was you on the phone. I've been getting asked about it."

"What have you been saying?"

"That I trust both of you and there has to be an explanation," he replied.

"Is Li okay? He doesn't think - "

"Yeah, it sucks to be jealous," he said, trying to answer in a way that wouldn't tell listening ears anything on his end.

"He's jealous?"

"We all have our flaws."

"He doesn't think I was actually cheating on him, does he?"

"Yeah, talk later," Harry replied, closing the conversation. "Love you."

"Yeah, love you," I muttered, hanging up the phone.

I spent the afternoon watching TV and checking my phone every thirty seconds to see if Liam had messaged me back yet. I couldn't decide if his lack of response was because he'd rather do this over the phone or if he really was that upset with me.

Finally, as I was cooking myself dinner, my phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey," Liam replied.

"Hi, babe." I grinned. "How'd the interviews go?"

"Fine." I could practically hear him shrugging.

A few of silence reigned until I decided to just bring it up and get it over with. "I was out with friends and ran into Ed, it wasn't any big thing."

"Okay."

"And those pictures tell quite the story - "

"They do."

"But it wasn't like we spent the whole night attached at the hip. We danced together; we had a couple drinks together - "

"Who did you go home with?"

"Seriously, Liam?"

He was silent on the other end of the line.

"Jordan. I went home with Jordan. She was one of the girls Michelle introduced me to and we hit it off. Neither of us thought we should be trying to get ourselves home drunk and she lived closer, so we went to hers."

"I didn't want to think anything, Ri," Liam admitted.

"Then don't. You should know how tabloids twist things."

"You didn't answer your phone this morning, though. And then I had to sit through these interviews where they kept asking Harry about it and showing these pictures and - "

"Ed's just a friend - "

"Who you've kissed, Riley."

"What?" I asked. "I said we just danced and drank. Nothing happened."

"I'm talking about New Year's," he insisted.

I sighed. "Yeah, but that was just - "

"I watched him kiss you on New Year's, babe, and then I see you grinding on each other in these pictures - "

"We weren't together at New Year's, Li. We weren't even on our way to being together. Besides, Harry and/or Louis set that whole thing up."

"Huh?"

"My New Year's kiss from Ed. That was all their doing. They thought I deserved a kiss at midnight. Ed was single. They knew I liked him and they set it up."

"You liked him?"

"He's Ed Sheeran, Liam. I was and am a fan, yes." I rolled my eyes.

"You know what I mean, Ri."

"I might've had a little crush on him at some point," I admitted. "But I'm with you now. You're the one I want."

Liam sighed.

"Seriously, Liam, there is nothing going on between me and Ed. He's just a friend. Besides, he knows I'm not single."

"Everybody knows you're 'with' Harry, Riley, that's not - "

"No, Li, I told him I wasn't available before we ever made it to the dance floor. He asked and I told him. He knows its one of the guys in One Direction, but I didn't tell him who, simply because I don't know him well enough to tell him a secret like that."

"Fine."

"Are we okay?" I hesitantly asked.

"Please don't go out with him again."

"I wasn't out with him, but, in future circumstances, if I run into him at a club, I will not dance or drink with him."

Liam didn't respond.

"I'm sorry that you had to see those pictures and I wasn't readily available to explain them. I'll try not to let this kind of thing happen again."

"You're gonna be shoved into everyone's faces with Harry when we're in London for the shows next week," Liam muttered, sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"I was hoping it'd be low-key... I want you to meet my parents. Come over for lunch one day."

"I've already met your parents, Li."

"Yeah, but not as my girlfriend."

"So we're doing 'meet the parents' even though I've met the parents?" I asked.

"I want to."

"Okay. But they were already eyeing me last time because they knew you liked me…does that mean they've approved already or should I be worried?"

"Don't be worried, babe."

"Not worried…just cautious."

"They like you. I'd just like for you to get to know them better," Liam insisted.

"Are they staying at your house while they're in London?"

I could practically hear the smirk playing across his lips. "Is there a reason you wouldn't want them here, babe?"

"It was just a question, Li."

"Yes, they're staying here. We've got a few days off after the last London show before we head out again, though, so I hope you'll be staying over a night or two?"

"Of course. I'm gonna talk to Harry about coming to Paris, too. Mostly just because I want to go to Paris, but I think it'll look good if I'm seen out with him there and I think we can manage it so that I get some date time with you, too."

"Sharing date time with Harry. Not something I expected to be happening a year ago," Liam chuckled.

"Sorry." I frowned.

"I signed up for this. It's alright. No worries."

"I didn't start this distance thing very well, but I'm not going anywhere tonight, so I'll be around if you call or anything."

"I don't expect you to be at my beck and call, babe. Yes, it sucked that the first night apart I couldn't get ahold of you, but you should still be having a life and having a good time without me there."

"It's not as fun without you here."

"You looked like you were having fun."

"Ed's a good dancer."

"Riley." He was quirking his eyebrow at me, I was sure.

"Okay, are we not past it enough to tease?"

"I'm not happy to be jealous, but he's had his hands all over you."

"Liam! No, he hasn't. We were dancing. He did not have his hands all over me."

He grumbled something incoherent.

"He's a friend that wanted to dance with a pretty girl. I obliged. I didn't let him do anything inappropriate, considering I have a boyfriend and I made sure that he was aware of the fact that I was in a real relationship with someone and not just in a publicity show with Harry."

"Okay."

"Okay? You know you don't have to reclaim your territory as soon as you see me, right? Because it hasn't been claimed by anyone else and besides, I am not territory to be claimed."

"I'm sorry."

"Better."

"I'm sorry, baby. I'm just - I don't have a good excuse, okay? I miss you and I want to be there making you laugh like that and dancing with you and all of those things and watching someone else do it sucks. I'm getting better about the stuff with Harry, because I knew that was happening going into this, but I'm just - I'm sorry."

"I just don't want you to think for a second that I would ever ever cheat on you. Physically or emotionally," I assured him.

"I know. I'm sorry. I do trust you. I'm just in a weird funk today."

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too. How about we FaceTime tonight after the show if you're still up?" he asked, hopeful.

I smiled. "I'd like that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter to be posted next Thursday.
> 
> Tell me what you think :) Comments/kudos make my day brighter :)


	19. Face to Face, but Far Apart

I was lying in bed, scrolling through Tumblr, when Liam finally called that night. I grabbed my phone and smiled as I answered.

"Hey, baby," Liam said, grinning at me from the screen. He looked exhausted.

"Did you sleep last night?" I asked, worried.

"Not that great, but yeah," he assured me.

I frowned. "I didn't sleep alone last night and I was totally drunk, so I guess I didn't have to deal with the empty bed."

Liam smirked. "Didn't sleep alone last night, huh?"

"Jordan's bed was very comfy."

"You look pretty comfy right now."

"Didn't think I needed to dress up to FaceTime you."

"Nah, I like it. Makes it easier to imagine you here - getting ready for bed with me."

"How was the show?" I asked, attempting to steer the conversation in a different direction.

"Great. It was great. Loudest crowd yet."

"You always say that."

"Well, they always seem to get louder." He chuckled. "What have you been doing?"

"Mindlessly scrolling through Tumblr at the moment."

"That can get away from you. Hope you aren't searching for yourself," he added with a hint of warning.

I shook my head. "Been catching a few Vines from tonight's show."

"Oh?"

My phone dinged with an incoming call.

"Can you hold on just a second? It's Louis."

He nodded and I switched over to Louis's call.

"Hey, can I call you back in a few? I'm talking to Li," I pleaded.

Louis shrugged. "Just wanted to check up on you."

"I'll call you back," I promised, switching back to Liam. "Sorry about that."

He'd moved to a pillow, lying down, looking up at his phone. "No biggie."

"You look like you need to sleep, anyways, babe."

"Just wanted to see your face for a few before I crashed."

I smiled. "How about I let you go and if you aren't asleep in the next twenty minutes, you text me and see if I'm still up?"

He rolled his eyes. "I'm not that - tired, baby," he insisted around a yawn.

I just looked at him.

"Okay, I'll go to sleep."

"G'night, babe."

"Night, baby," he replied, blowing me a kiss. I grinned before ending the call.

Harry answered Louis's phone pretty quickly, happy to see me.

"Hey, love."

"Where'd Louis go?" I asked.

"I'm here, love," Louis's voice assured me and Harry adjusted the phone so that I could see both of them. "Did you and Liam get things straightened out?"

I nodded. "Yeah, that was a hot mess."

"Ed called me earlier," Harry commented.

"He did?" I asked, surprised.

"He wanted to assure whoever you were actually dating that nothing had happened and he'd just wanted to dance with a pretty girl for the evening."

I chuckled. "Did you tell him to call Liam?"

Harry shook his head. "No, I figured if you didn't tell him a name then I wasn't in a position to do so either, but I promised to pass on the words."

"He's a nice guy. I didn't realize - I didn't think it through. I was just trying to have a good time and distract myself from going home to an empty house."

Louis and Harry both frowned.

"I hadn't intended to get drunk and let my phone die and not answer Liam's messages for over twelve hours," I assured them.

"You could still come for a show, you know," Harry offered.

I shrugged. "You'll be back in London next week."

"Yeah, but if you wanted to, you could come up to Manchester for a show. It's only a few hours by train."

"I'll think about it."

"Liam would be pleased."

I nodded, thoughtful. "I'll have to check with work - "

"You never work on Sundays," Louis insisted.

"And we know management would like it after the whole thing with Ed," Harry added.

"Just come up on Sunday morning and leave Monday." Louis could tell I wanted to come.

"I'll think about it."

"Let us know. We'll have somebody come get you from the station."

I nodded. "I was gonna ask if you'd mind me tagging along to Paris in a few weeks?"

Louis and Harry exchanged a look before shrugging.

"Making plans in the city of love with your boy toy?" Louis asked.

I rolled my eyes. "Why do you insist on calling him that?"

"Because it annoys you." He grinned.

"I just really want to come to Paris. If I happen to be able to sneak out with my boyfriend for a nice walk through the city or something, that'd be great. If not, I'll sneak away by myself. I love Paris."

"Yeah, that's cool with us. We've got a few days before and after the two shows there free, so we could stick around a day or two extra."

"Awesome. I'll make sure I get it off." I grinned.

 

\---

 

"Coming, coming," I mumbled towards my phone as it loudly sang 'She Looks So Perfect'. I rushed through the house to grab it off of the charger in my room. "Hello?" I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Riley? This is Martha, Katherine's assistant?"

I rolled my eyes. I'd been expecting a call from Modest!. "Yes. What can I do for you, Martha?"

"Katherine was wanting to speak with you in person. Today, if you're free."

"I've got work this afternoon - "

"Would ten AM do?"

"I guess - "

"I'll pencil you in."

Click.

I pulled the phone away from my ear and looked at it, surprised by the abrupt ending.

I had been planning to mosey around the house until I had to be at work and now I had to get dressed in something presentable within the next hour or I'd be late.

 

\---

 

"I don't know what it's about. I assume it's just about the pictures from the other night," I replied.

"It shouldn't be more than a slap on the hand," Harry assured me. "Make sure you mention your plans to join me in Paris."

"Yeah, I'm sure she'll like that plan."

"And be careful," he warned.

He didn't have to say Liam's name for me to know he was talking about my forbidden relationship with his band mate.

"I know. I'll call you when its over."

"Alright."

We said our goodbyes and I hung up as I got into the elevator to take me up to Katherine's office. Patty smiled when she saw me and waved me down the hall towards Martha's desk where it was positioned in front of Katherine's office.

Before I could say a word, Martha was on the phone, informing Katherine that I was here. A moment later, I was being whisked into her office and sat in an uncomfortable chair across from her.

Katherine smiled at me in that way that everyone knows is fake. "How are you, Riley?" she asked.

I shrugged. "I'm alright. How're you?"

"I hope it wasn't too much of an inconvenience having you in today?"

"Is this about those pictures?" I asked.

She nodded. "You were photographed getting cozy with Ed Sheeran."

"I was."

"And you're supposed to be in a relationship solely with Harry."

"I am."

She sighed, exasperated. "How do you know Ed Sheeran?"

"You sent me and Harry on a date to a concert of his once."

Katherine nodded, remembering. "This won't happen again."

I shook my head. "Nothing's happened between Ed and I. But if you mean the photos, then, yes, I'll try not to let it happen again. I wasn't trying to make it happen the other night either."

"It looks bad. We need Harry appearing the ever-perfect boyfriend. He's not cheating on you and you're not on him."

"Louis would say he's a pretty good boyfriend." I smirked.

"This is their image. Their careers live and die by their image. You understand that?"

I nodded. "No pictures with other men. Got it."

"There will be consequences if it happens again."

"I can't imagine it would."

She squinted over at me. "No, I can't imagine it either."

"Harry said to let you know I'm joining them in Paris."

"Good. You'll need to be seen together. Next week while they're in London, you'll be seen. Together and with his family."

I nodded. "Gotta spend time with the fake in-laws."

"I don't appreciate your flippant attitude about this."

I glared at her. "I don't know that that matters much. You may be able to insist that Harry have a girlfriend, but I think he has a large amount of say in who it is - me. I understand why you're doing what you're doing and I get that you think it's for the best, I just don't quite agree. I'm in this for Louis and Harry - not the fame or the money or to please you."

Her mouth dropped open momentarily in shock. "I'll have Martha let you know the required activities next week."

I smirked. "Thanks. Are we done?" I asked.

She nodded, minutely.

I escaped the office and rode the elevator down to the main lobby before dialing Harry.

I cursed as his voicemail greeted me.

 

\---

 

"Bad morning?" Alyssa greeted me as the door chimed with my arrival at the bookstore.

I rolled my eyes. "Something like that."

"Missing your man?" she asked, concerned.

I nodded. "I'm going to surprise him this weekend, though. A couple hours on a train won't kill me."

"What is it he does?"

"He's in a band. They're touring right now."

"Oh, is he any good?" she asked.

"Pretty good, yeah. A voice of the gods," I added with a chuckle. "Has it been busy today?" I asked, changing the topic before she cornered me into revealing that my boyfriend was 1/5 of One Direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is later in the day than usual. Next update will be next Thursday. :)
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments/kudos make me smile :D


	20. Surprise

"How'd things go with Harry?" Jordan asked. "I still can't believe you dancing with Ed made the papers."

I shrugged. "It's ridiculous what they'll do to get a story. Things are fine. I assured him nothing happened. He wasn't very happy with me for my phone dying, but, I mean - things happen, he gets it."

Jordan nodded. "It's good he trusts you."

"He was having a bit of a jealous fit, but he got over it." I laughed.

"I guess you'll be going to a show when they're in London?" Jordan asked, trying to make it sound casual.

I chuckled. "Is this you asking me to get you in?"

"I couldn't get tickets - they sold out," she pouted.

"I'll take you with me one night, don't worry about it," I assured her. "Introduce you to the boys and everything."

She grinned. "I'd love that. Thank you."

I shook my head. "No worries. Harry'll want to be sure that I'm not making up this 'Jordan' that I spent the night with anyways."

She chuckled.

 

\---

 

"I had lunch with Jordan today," I informed Liam. My iPad was propped up in front of me as I ate my dinner and I could see Liam doing the same. His burger looked a lot more delicious than my salad.

"How is she?" he asked, tentatively.

"She's good. She's in the know about who my 'boyfriend' is since the whole Ed debacle, but she seems to be cool with it. She did ask if I could get her into a show when you guys are in London."

"I definitely would like to - "

"Meet her. Yeah, I told her you probably would. Well, I told her Harry would, but whatever. I told her I'd make sure she met all of you."

"How's Michelle? And who was the other one you met?"

"Melany. I haven't really seen them. A couple texts since the club to check in is all."

"Doesn't sound like you've been very social," he noted, giving me a look.

"I'm not trying to be anti-social," I insisted. "I just haven't wanted to go out a lot. I've been working - I talk to Alyssa and Luke at work all the time."

"You should go out this weekend. Do something fun. Go out with Alyssa or something."

I smiled. "Yeah, I'll think about it," I replied, pleased that Louis and Harry hadn't let it slip that I was coming to surprise him this weekend.

"Do it. Get out of the house."

I saluted him with a roll of my eyes. "Aye, aye, sir."

 

\---

 

"So you're dating Harry Styles," Alyssa casually stated as we were putting away books after a particularly rambunctious group of children came through.

"Uh, yes?" I replied.

"Are you or aren't you?" She laughed.

"I am. How'd you find out?"

"I saw that girl ask you for a picture the other day and got curious. A quick google search later and I was in the know," she explained.

"Yeah, I don't really like getting asked for pictures, 'cause I'm not famous or anything, but then I feel weird telling people 'no', too."

"And you're going to surprise him this weekend?"

"Yeah. If you could keep that under the radar, that'd be great. I'm hoping to blend in."

She rolled her eyes. "Who would I tell?"

I laughed. "Okay, yeah, but you'd be surprised how fast their fans figure things out, so just don't mention it to anyone."

"He doesn't know you're coming?"

"Nope. I'll see him in London really soon, but I just - miss him," I shrugged. "Louis pointed out it wasn't that far away and I should come, so I'm going for it."

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to see you."

I nodded, smiling as I continued to slide books into their rightful places.

 

\---

 

"What are you doing here?!" Liam exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.

"I came to see you." I grinned, pleased that he was surprised. Louis and Harry had promised to keep it a secret, but I wasn't sure how well I'd make it to the venue without being spotted since they'd sent somebody to get me.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He couldn't keep the grin off of his face.

I lifted myself up on my toes slightly to reach his mouth and kiss him. "I wanted to surprise you."

"Color me surprised." He leaned in for another kiss.

I heard the door swing open behind us and we jumped apart.

"Happy to see your girl?" Louis asked, a teasing lilt to his voice.

Liam's arm slipped around my shoulders, pulling me closer as we realized it was just Louis and Harry. "Very," he replied before turning back to me. "How long are you here?"

"I was planning to stay 'til you left for Edinburgh and then meet you back in London, of course."

"Did she tell you she's coming to Paris with us?" Harry asked.

"She mentioned it was a possibility," Liam replied with a small smile in my direction.

"City of love and all that," Louis commented.

I rolled my eyes. "I just really love Paris and its not that much of a trip on the chunnel."

Liam leaned in a pressed a kiss to my cheek. "You're really selling me on the idea you want to come see me, babe," he whispered.

I grinned, blushing slightly. "You're definitely a perk of the trip."

"Oh, they're getting lovey-dovey again," Louis pouted. "We should leave them to it."

"Are you gonna watch the show, babe?" Harry asked.

I shrugged. "From back here, maybe. I don't want to be spotted yet."

 

\---

 

Liam leaned in to kiss me and I pushed him away with a giggle.

"You're all sweaty," I protested.

Liam pouted. "Just one?"

I rolled my eyes and reached up to kiss him and he pulled me into a nasty sweaty hug as he lifted me up and carried me over to the shower with him.

"Liam!"

"No one's going to come in here," he assured me, setting me down and kissing my lips.

"You don't know that," I insisted, kissing him again.

He turned the water on and pulled his tank top off over his head.

"And you need a shower wear you actually get clean."

He ignored me, pulling me in for another kiss. "C'mon, babe. I already told Paddy I'd let him know when we're ready to leave, so he won't interrupt and no one else is going to come looking for either one of us."

"What about - "

He cut me off with another kiss.

" - Harry?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

He frowned. "You're really bringing up your other 'boyfriend' at a time like this?"

I giggled.

"I think he knows better than to come looking for us." He checked the temperature of the water and started undoing his jeans.

"I don't have anything to change into," I offered a final feeble protest. "My clothes are all at the hotel."

"You can borrow something of mine."

I bit my lip. "We're not - "

He stepped closer to me, clad only in his boxers, and pulled my shirt over my head. "We are going to take a shower. That's it."

He reached down to undo my jeans as I reached back to unclasp my bra. "Alright." I smiled.

"I didn't really think your protests were very convincing." He chuckled.

I kicked my shoes off before he slid my jeans down my thighs and I stepped out of them, kicking them out of the way.

Our mouths slotted together again and his tongue slipped into my mouth as one of his hands came up to cup my left breast. His thumb brushed back and forth across the nipple, causing it to harden as my knees started to weaken.

"Did you - lock the - "

The door clanged open. "Liam, have you seen my - "

Zayn froze in the doorway, eyes wide for a moment before quickly looking away with a blush in his cheeks. I'd turned away from the door, leaning into Liam as my cheeks flushed.

"Sorry - sorry," Zayn mumbled, quickly exiting. The door shut and then reopened as his hand came back around to lock the door before he shut it again.

I smacked Liam's shoulder. "I can't believe you didn't lock the door."

"I thought everyone was heading back to the hotel pretty quick," he insisted, stepping away to check the water again. "It's warm," he offered, feebly.

I shook my head. "It had to be Zayn of all people. Louis and Harry have at least - " I stopped short, realizing what I was saying.

Liam looked over at me. "Louis and Harry have what?"

I blushed again. "Nothing." I shoved my panties down and off and quickly jumped into the shower, beckoning for him to join me.

I moved under the water, letting it run through my hair as I waited a few seconds for him to join me.

I felt his lips press to my bare shoulder in greeting. "Have they seen you like this?" he whispered.

"Not like this," I insisted. "Just - you know, we live together. We've all kind of - walked in on each other."

"You like Zayn, though."

"I never said I liked him."

"You said you wanted to have a threesome with him, baby."

"In truth or dare."

His lips met mine in a short kiss before he started kissing his way across my jaw.

"You want to, though," he insisted.

I chuckled. "I think I'd rather have sex with just you, first."

"Is that an offer?" He smirked.

"Maybe when you're in London in a couple weeks," I offered.

He paused in his activity and stood back to look me in the eyes. "You're ready?"

I nodded. "I just would prefer to have more than 24 hours with you afterwards, so - London."

He grinned. "Okay. I can agree to those terms."

I kissed his bare chest. "Now, I think we should be getting you cleaned up."

I gestured for him to hand me the body wash and he grabbed the body wash, too, squeezing a large dollop onto my arm and I jumped at the sudden cold.

"Rude."

He just smirked and handed me the washcloth, turning around to let me wash his back.

"I'll probably smell like you now," I muttered, rinsing the soap off of me.

"What did you think this shower was for?" he teased.

I squeezed some body wash onto the washcloth and rubbed it together, making suds before I wiped it across his shoulders and back, slowly.

"I see Mark's keeping you in shape," I teased as I took in the view of his firm ass.

He chuckled. "Workin' our asses off as always."

"I appreciate the effort as I'm sure all of your fans do." I stepped around him so that the water would rinse off his back as I washed his front. He was smiling down at me in this soft way that made my stomach fill with butterflies.

"You look as beautiful as ever," he murmured, lifting hand up to run his thumb across my jaw as I ran the washcloth across his chest. I glanced up at him, briefly, before rubbing my bare thumb across a nipple, smiling as he sucked in a surprised breath.

"Just curious," I muttered, returning to washing each of his arms and hands and in-between his fingers with a focused set to my jaw.

"You're cute when you're trying not to look at me."

"I am looking at you," I replied, automatically.

He hand came up to cup my chin, forcing my gaze up to his. "That's better. I think I'm clean enough, really. Can't I do you?" he asked.

I shrugged with a small blush.

"You do know I've seen you before," he whispered, taking the washcloth from me. "We've done this before."

"I've just missed you," I sighed, leaning into his touch. "I don't know. It's just - yeah, I missed you. I didn't expect you to pull me into a shower at the stadium, but I've - thought about this."

Liam smirked. "Oh?"

I bit my lip, debating whether I should continue.

"What's happened in these dreams?" he asked, whispering as if there were anyone nearby to overhear us.

My cheeks flushed. "I didn't say they were dreams."

"Daydreams are still dreams," he insisted. He started rubbing the washcloth around my neck and across my shoulders, waiting for my answer.

"I dunno - you - just - touched me, mostly," I mumbled.

"Where?"

"Everywhere," I sighed, my eyes falling shut. "Your hands were usually everywhere."

"On your shoulders?" He muttered, his hands settling there, waiting for my nod before moving with his words. "Your stomach? - Your legs? - Thighs?"

I nodded again, heart beating erratically as his hand slipped between my thighs and he leaned forward to breath into my ear. "What about here?"

"Li." His name was barely a breath across my lips before his lips pressed to mine in a fierce kiss. I lost myself in it for a moment, before I remembered where we were and pushed him away, shaking my head. "Not here. Let's - let's go back to the hotel."

His breath hitched, but he nodded, switching spots with me so that I could rinse off, his hands eagerly joining the water running across my skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slow build is hard. Really. I don't want to rush them, but jesus it is hard to not have them just rip each other's clothes off and go at it.
> 
> Anyways, hope you all are having a good week. Next update will be next Thursday unless I randomly decide to surprise you.


	21. Manchester

"We don’t have to do anything," Liam whispered, opening the door to his hotel room. "I know we were - but - if you don't want to - "

I gently squeezed his hand with a small smile. "I just don't want to go all the way. That doesn't mean I don't want to touch you and makeout a bit."

"'Makeout'?" He chuckled. "Sometimes I forget how very American you are."

I bump my shoulder against his as we slip into the room. "'Snog' then or whatever."

He sits on the edge of the bed, pulling me into his lap before pressing a kiss to my neck.

"'Snog' is such a weird word, anyways."

"You've picked up so much of the British slang, I'm surprised you pause at that one." I can feel his breath against my neck as he speaks and his dick is pressing against my thigh, still excited by our earlier activities in the shower.

"I don't have the means to use it very often," I murmured, letting my fingers thread through his short hair.

"I doubt that with the way you and Harry make a show of it every chance you get."

"Whose bringing up my other boyfriend now?" I teased. "And I wouldn't say its every chance we get."

"I've seen you snogging a fair few times more than I'd like."

"I'm sure Zayn would be happy to confirm that it's you that I'm into."

He growled quietly against my neck before sucking a mark into the space just below my ear.

"You think he's thought about it?" I murmured, pleased that he had a little bit of a jealous streak.

"Riley - "

"I'm sure you've thought about it."

His teeth grazed my ear as his hand slipped up the back of my shirt, quickly unclasping my bra. "I'd rather think about fucking you myself."

"Li - "

"If we're talking about fantasies - " His hand slipped around to caress my left breast. " - I might let him watch. But I'd have to have every inch of you memorized - " My breath caught. " - before I'd ever let him touch you like that." His voice had turned raspy in this delicious way that had me squirming on his lap.

"Fuck, Li," I whispered before pulling his mouth to mine, letting our tongues dance together.

"Take your shirt off," he muttered. "I wanna see you - please."

I slipped my bra off under my shirt before pulling it over my head and tossing both to the floor. "How about - "

His lips wrapped around a nipple and my words were lost in a strangled gasp at the sudden contact as his tongue circled and flicked while his hand lightly pinched my other nipple, causing both of them to harden at the contact.

"Li," I gasped. My hand slid around his neck, torn between pressing him closer and pulling him away so I could breathe properly again.

His free hand was pressed to the small of my back and before I could process the movement, he flipped us so that I was on my back and he was over me, kissing his way across my chest to catch the other nipple in his mouth. His eyes flickered up to gage my reaction and my cheeks flushed before I glanced away.

"Tell me - to stop - if you - "

I shook my head. "This is - yeah - don’t - stop," I gasped as his hands caressed my stomach and hips as if he was memorizing every inch of me.

His mouth came up to mine and I started tugging at his shirt in frustration, annoyed that so much fabric was in the way. A small whine escaped my lips as he pulled away to tug the shirt off over his head. His lips returned to mine and I happily counted his abs with my fingers. I pushed him over and straddled his waist so that I could lean down and kiss each muscle as his fingers tangled into my hair with a sigh.

"You're - so - gor-geous," I murmured, moving my way up to his chest.

"Fuck, Riley," he sighed.

"Nope, won't be doing that tonight," I teased, grinning up at him.

"Probably come in my jeans like a teenager," he moaned as I circled his nipple with my tongue.

I hummed. "Have you not been taking care of yourself?"

"Well, you obviously haven't - been." He smirked to assure me that he was teasing.

"I've been taking care of myself, I just assumed - "

His lips caught mine, cutting off the rest of my statement.

"Tell me - what - what get's you off?" he asked, breathless, eyes shining up at me.

My cheeks heated under his gaze and I looked away for a moment, debating how to reply.

"Baby, I wanna know," he insisted. "Please."

I leaned in to kiss him again, trying to distract him from the question.

"Baby," he pleaded. "Do you think about me?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "Almost always."

"Almost?" He smirked. "Who else?"

I shrugged, glancing away from him.

"C'mon, love. I'm just curious."

I squinted down at him. "I've already seen you get jealous before."

He pouted. "That was just - well, just stick with - ya know, celebrities you don't think you have a chance with or something."

I rolled my eyes. "I didn't think I had a chance with you."

Liam leaned up to press a kiss to my lips with a grin. "You should've known better. Now, who's your celebrity crush?"

"You."

"Who else?" he insisted, twisting our fingers together as we talked.

I pretended to think for a moment before smirking. "Harry."

"Riley," he pouted.

"Zayn." I quirked an eyebrow at him.

He just looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

I stared back, daring him to make me.

"C'mon, don't you have a thing for, like, Ryan Gosling or Adam Levine?"

I smirked. "Why? Do you have a thing for Ryan Gosling or Adam Levine?"

He glared up at me. "Riley," he whined.

"This is dumb."

"No, it's not."

"It's not like I want to know who your celebrity crush is. You know why? Because then I'd be sitting here thinking about how much better Emma Watson would be for you than I am. That's why."

"I'm not gonna do that. And Hermione Granger has got nothing on you," he insisted. "I just want to know what gets you hot and bothered."

"Adam Levine is a very attractive man. I've never had a sexual fantasy about him, though."

Liam grinned. "Now we're getting somewhere."

"Ryan Gosling is too…I don't know. And he's married. I just - no."

"I'm guessing that's why I didn't hear a serious answer of Harry or Louis," Liam commented.

"They're both ridiculously attractive, but, yeah, I could never separate them. Even in a fantasy."

"What about…Captain America?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are we switching to fictional characters?"

"I thought you might be into that," he replied, daring me to contradict him.

"Alright, um, I dunno. Yeah, actually, I'd definitely go for Captain America."

Liam smiled. "Why is that?"

"He's tall, ripped, probably no trouble in the size department…but yeah, that's not why I'd pick him," I said, grinning as Liam's face fell into confusion. "He's nice. He cares, like, fiercely for people."

"He's nice. That's what turns you on?" Liam asked in disbelief.

"Um, yeah," I continued, blushing slightly. "When you think about how that would come across in the bedroom. I mean, I imagine he'd be very, uh, giving."

Liam chuckled, softly.

"Hermione Granger," I dared him.

"A bit too much of a know-it-all. Probably tell me what I was doing wrong. Poor Ron," Liam replied without hesitation. "How 'bout Draco Malfoy?"

I leaned forward a pressed kiss to his lips before moving off of him, curling into his side. "Maybe if I wanted to sub or something. He seems like a bit of a dom, whether you want to deal with that or not."

"Bit of a tosser, really."

"Harry could take him."

"Potter, yeah. Styles would be drooling at his feet."

I giggled. "What about Loki?"

"I do actually identify as mostly straight, you know."

"Yeah, but if Zayn's an exception, then there's got to be a few others."

"I don't really get people's fascination with Tom Hiddleston."

I gasped. "The man is gorgeous. And nice. And - "

"Would you choose him over Benedict Cumberbatch?" Liam asked, curious.

"No. But that doesn't invalidate his attractiveness. Ben is just a level above all others."

"All others?"

"He'd be on my list."

"Your list? I don't know if I'd agree to this list thing."

"Well, it has to be people that are impossible to get. You're a celebrity, so I'm not sure it'd work with you," I reasoned.

"So you get one and I don't?" His eyebrow raised in question.

"You're much more likely to meet people on your list," I insisted.

"You're publically dating Harry Styles. I'm pretty sure your odds are pretty good."

"Okay, fine."

He kissed my forehead.

"You're the top of my list anyways," I muttered.

"Good to know."

"Just above Zayn," I added with a smirk.

"I just don't know if you bring him up to tease me or if you really have a thing for him," Liam admitted.

"A bit of both. It's not really a thing for him, more of a thing for you and him."

"Me and him?"

"It's just - it's kinda hot. I never would've really brought it up if it hadn't come up in truth or dare, probably. But it came up. I chose not to just ignore that I said it."

"I just want it to be me and you for a while, yeah?" Liam finally said.

"Definitely."

 

\---

 

"Hmmm, morning, baby," Liam mumbled as soon as I'd opened my eyes.

"Morning," I muttered back. Our legs were all tangled together and my head was tucked into his chest.

"What d'you wanna do today?" he asked.

"Stay here."

He chuckled. "We should probably get out of bed at some point."

"If we leave bed, I'm more likely to be spotted by some super fan and then they'll all know I'm here and be watching for me." I yawned.

He hummed. "No rush. I like you right here."

"Louis and Harry'll come looking for me soon, anyways."

"You aren't exactly dressed for company," he reminded me. I was wearing the sweats he'd lent me after our shower the night before and he'd stripped down to his boxers.

I shrugged. "They'll have to knock."

"They'll probably have a key."

I squinted up at him in confusion. "Why would they have a key to your room?"

"You do realize you got into my room without me last night, right?" he asked, chuckling.

"Oh, yeah. Well, they should know better."

 

\---

 

"I hope you're decent," Louis said in announcing their arrival as they entered the room.

"Would it stop you if we weren't?" Liam called back.

"Nope."

"We brought food," Harry said, peaking his head around the corner to see us. I quickly pulled the blanket up to cover my chest and Louis cackled.

"We already had a round of morning sex, so we figured you'd be done by now," Louis said.

"We were not - "

"That's none of your - "

Liam and I stopped and looked at each other.

"I really didn't need to know that," Liam replied after a moment.

"And FYI, girls can last a lot longer than guys, so don't assume next time," I added with a smirk as Louis and Harry both choked. "Now, do you mind?" I asked, gesturing at the fact that I'd like to get dressed.

"I don't mind at all," Harry replied with a grin. Liam chucked a pillow at him and they disappeared back around the corner with a laugh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter :)
> 
> Come see me on tumblr (l-a-r-r-yspellslove) and follow me! I just opened an etsy shop, so I'm doing a little giveaway for a couple hair bows if you reblog my giveaway post :)
> 
> Comments are lovely and kudos are great :)
> 
> Plan for an update next Thursday.


	22. A Double Date

"We're going out!" Louis announced.

"What? I can't - " I started.

"Yes, you can. We're going out to dinner."

"Double date," Harry added with a grin.

"And if you are seen, it just means you can enjoy the show from the crowd instead of backstage tonight," Louis insisted.

I glanced between the two of them. "I'd rather not be seen."

"We're hoping none of us are seen," Harry assured me.

"Where are we going?" Liam asked.

"There's a little Italian place that Paul thinks he can get us in and out of without disturbing the peace."

"Alright," I agreed. "But you know if we get spotted - "

"You and Haz have to be all couple-y, yeah, but this gets us out of the hotel."

"And gives us some time to see you, since you've been cooped up with Li since you got here," Harry added with a small pout.

"Aw, have you missed me, babe?" I asked, reaching up to pet his hair.

"I'm planning our date for London," he told me in lieu of an answer.

I perked up, immediately. "Oh? What are we doing?"

"It's a surprise," he replied with a knowing grin.

"You don't get to steal her away the whole time we're back home," Liam reminded him, slipping his hand into mine.

"I'm sure she'll be sleeping at yours more than ours." Louis smirked.

"I don't know about that - with his parents staying and all."

"Aw, is someone nervous about meeting the parents?" Louis teased.

"It's not - I've already met them, but - " I shot a glance at Liam. " - Yeah, I'm a bit nervous."

Liam's arm slipped around my waist, pulling me into his side. "There's nothing to be nervous about, love. They already like you."

"Yeah, they liked me in the obscure 'our son has a crush on her' kind of way, but that doesn't mean they'll like the reality of us dating while I'm still Harry's beard."

Liam pressed a kiss to my hair. "It'll be fine."

"Our mums love you," Harry reminded me. "And Karen will, too. And Geoff."

I sighed. "Yeah, but I can't just not be nervous."

Liam chuckled.

"When are we leaving?" I asked, changing the subject.

"Paul said he'd be ready for us in twenty minutes - " Louis glanced down at the clock on his phone. " - which means we should head down."

"What are we sneaking out in?" I asked.

Louis chuckled.

"He didn't tell me."

"What're the odds that it's a normal car with tinted windows?"

"Not very likely," Liam muttered as we started our way down the hallway, pulling the suite door shut behind us.

"I've got a hoodie on," I pointed out. "I could put my hood up."

"So they'd wonder who the girl with us is?" Louis shook his head. "They'd either know it was you or be trying to figure out who Liam was dating."

"I'm sure they have a plan."

"Like the bread truck?"

"Hey, you didn't have to ride in the bread truck," Harry reminded me.

"Still. Whatever it is this time, I'm in hiding, too."

 

\---

 

"You two are adorable."

I looked up at Harry's words. "What?"

"Hiding your hands under the table over there and probably drawing letters into each other's palms or something - spelling out 'I love you' or something."

Louis smirked. "They're still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship."

"I happen to know that your ankles are linked together over there and Louis keeps slipping his hand under the back of Harry's shirt when he thinks no one is looking." My eyes dared them to contradict me.

"You two have that look, though," Harry insisted.

"What look?" Liam asked, glancing over at me.

"Well, it's the look you'll have to keep at bay when we're surrounded by fans."

"What look?" I asked.

"When he thinks you aren't looking, he'll look over at you like he can't look away. And when you think he's not looking, you bite your lip and glance over at him."

"I do not bite my lip that much!" I argued.

Louis and Harry exchanged a look. "Yeah, babe, you do. It's your nervous anticipation thing. You bite your lip. It's cute."

"Kinda sexy, really," Louis added.

"Hey." Liam kicked him in the shin under the table and shot him a glare.

"Your girl's sexy. Surely I'm allowed to say - "

Liam kicked him again. "It's bad enough she's got to snog your boyfriend on a regular basis."

Louis chuckled. "I don't think you've got anything to worry about, Li."

"He's complimenting your taste in women," Harry added with a shrug. "Not that he's doing it well."

"I still don't think I bite my lip that much."

"It's cute," Liam muttered, looking over at me. "And you do it a lot. When you're nervous or thinking."

"Fine, whatever."

"He likes it, babe, just go with it," Harry remarked.

"Whatever."

"You two deserve to be around a sickeningly sweet couple more often," Liam said, looking back across the table. "With all the stuff we've had to put up with for the past few years."

"You and Danielle were sickening, too," Louis insisted. "And - well, Perrie's not around enough to know if they ever had a sickening stage."

"I thought it was all - well, fake?"

Louis and Liam exchanged a look.

"Fine, so you've had to deal with us," Louis quickly covered. "We aren't that bad."

I laughed. "Are you kidding me? Have you watched the video diaries from X-Factor? I wasn't even there and I can tell these boys had to put up with a lot from the two of you."

"I was only sixteen," Harry protested.

"And he was your first real crush. Yeah. And you were horribly horribly obvious about it and I honestly don't understand how people think that was all just a bromance."

Liam chuckled. "It was painfully obvious that they were in love with each other."

"Me and Harry and decent actors, but I still don't understand how people don't see the difference between the way he looks at me and the way he looks at Louis."

"People see what they want to see," Louis said, glancing sadly at Harry.

"Yeah, stupid people," I muttered, reminded of how frustrating the world was for them.

Liam leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Well, we've gotta come out eventually. I mean, I don't think you two are going to be able to fake it forever either."

"And we said that Riley would be the last beard," Louis added.

"I'm not sure how well the whole 'Oh she isn't my girlfriend, but she's actually Liam's' thing will go," I commented.

Liam squeezed my hand. "Yeah, we'll have to figure something out before then. It'll still be a while yet, I think," he assured us before taking a long sip of his water.

"What if Riley gets pregnant before then?"

Liam coughed, slightly choking on his water.

I chuckled. "Let's not get pregnant anytime soon and we won't have to worry about that."

"I'm just saying," Harry insisted. "Accidents do happen."

"I haven't had sex in over a year, okay? But I'm on birth control. I got back on birth control after we got back from South America."

"Oh, you two haven't - "

"Louis, that's none of our - "

"Harold, you know she would tell you before she told me if they had. And the way we walked in on them this morning had me assuming."

My cheeks flushed.

"It's not really any of your business," Liam said.

"Unless she ends up pregnant," Louis insisted. "Because then it's going to be the band's business because there is no way in hell I'm going to let the world think that Harry got her pregnant."

"We'll be careful," I assured him. Liam just looked annoyed. "And I'd definitely tell you if I even suspected - well, I'd tell Harry, at least."

"Probably tell Harry before me," Liam muttered, rolling his eyes.

I grinned, slightly biting my lip.

"See, you do bite your lip," Liam said with a smirk.

"She may carry our child before she carries her own if she agrees to it, anyways," Harry muttered.

I turned my head to stare at him, unsure I'd heard him correctly. "What?"

"Harry - "

"What? We're gonna ask her eventually. Who else would we ask?"

"Ask me what?" I asked again.

"This is still a few - "

"A couple - "

"Years away," Louis said, rolling his eyes at his boyfriend's interjection.

"And it'd depend on whether whoever - no offense, Liam - you're with at the time, whether that be Liam or someone else."

I glanced between them. "Are you saying you want me to be a surrogate for you guys?" I asked in the steadiest voice I could muster.

They exchanged a look before both nodding.

"It won't be until after we're officially out as a couple and stuff, but yeah."

"We always said we wanted it to be someone we know really well but we're hesitant to have either of our sisters do it."

"And we don't need an answer right now, obviously, but Harry can't keep things to himself."

"You can think about it for as long as you want and we'll just bring it up when we're - "

"Yeah," I interrupted.

They both paused, staring at me.

"I'll do it. Whenever you're ready. I know you said it'd have to be okay with whoever I'm with at the time, but I honestly don't think I would want to be with someone who wouldn't let me do this for you guys."

Harry grinned and Louis looked like he might cry.

I stood and moved around the table to hug them both. Louis hugged me harder than he'd ever hugged me before and that was when the first tear ran down my face as I laughed.

"It'd work out really well if you just stayed with Liam and married him," Harry whispered in my ear when he hugged me.

"We'll see," I whispered back, shooting a happy glance towards Liam. He looked a little unsure of what to do as he watched us, but lucky for him, the waitress returned and asked if we were ready for the check.

The three of them fought over the check for a few minutes, well, Liam fought with the other two, since Louis and Harry didn't consider their money to be separate. I knew better than to offer to pay, having argued with all three of them on multiple occasions about taking my share of the bill. If it was Starbucks or ice cream, they'd let me take the bill occasionally, but lunches and dinners were a no deal.

Louis handed the waitress his card and the argument was over as Liam muttered a 'thank you' and we all prepared to leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Liley/Larry double date is what everyone wanted, right? Because it's what I've been wanting, so I just went for it and then all that other stuff happened, too, and wow, I just have to post it because I'm almost done with the next chapter now, too. You might just get another update before Thursday. We'll see how this goes. haha 
> 
> Comments make me write faster (really) and kudos make me smile!
> 
> Lots of 'firsts' to come! These two are too adorable.


	23. Lucky

We'd arrived at the stadium only to be ushered around to various dressing rooms to get the guys dressed and ready for the show.

"I hope that wasn't weird for you," I told Liam as soon as we'd been left alone.

He shook his head, wrapping his arms around me to pull me into a hug. "It wasn't weird."

"I don't like imagining a future without you in it, but we've only been together a couple months so I didn't want to jump to conclusions or anything either."

"It was fine, baby. It was - really touching getting to see that, actually," he admitted.

"Yeah?"

"They'll be great parents whenever they decide to take that step and this was a step towards that. It wasn't something I expected to be around for."

"Well, that's before you became involved with their best friend." I smiled.

"It was quite a turn to the conversation."

"Harry's good at that."

"They might have you popping out babies for a few years."

I laughed. "It'd make me feel better about letting them pay for so much."

He pressed a kiss into my hair. "It made me realize something."

I pulled away enough to look up at him. "What's that?"

He threaded our fingers together as he stared deep into my eyes. I swallowed nervously, trying not to bite my lip.

"I love you," he whispered, a huge grin cutting across his face. "I'm totally in love with you."

I smiled, reaching up to kiss him once before replying. "I hope this isn't just because you realized I'm a baby-making machine or something."

"Riley - "

I chuckled. "'Cause I love you, too, babe."

Our lips collided again and I lost myself for a moment, only able to focus on the way his tongue was sliding against mine and the feel of his hand gripping my hip, pulling me closer to him.

A knock sounded at the door. "Five minutes!" A man's voice called.

"I've gotta go," Liam pouted.

I grinned. "Yeah, go and try not to look as stupidly happy as you do right now. The fans'll be asking questions."

He chuckled. "You're one to talk," he said, his thumb brushing across the line of my jaw. "That smile could probably power the stadium."

"Oh, shut up." I shoved him towards the door, unable to force my smile down at all.

He leaned in and kissed me again. "Love you."

"Go do your job."

"Ri-ley," he pouted.

"I love you, too. Now, go."

 

\---

 

"So what'd you do backstage before the show?" Harry asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I slapped his shoulder. "Nothing."

"The gigantic smile on Liam's face would beg to differ."

I smiled.

"Oh, come on," Harry insisted.

"He told me he loved me," I admitted, trying to keep my voice down so the rest of the car wouldn't hear me. We were riding back to the hotel with a couple of the security guys - they'd made me get in with Harry because they thought some fans had spotted me at the show.

"And you said?"

"I said it back."

Harry grinned. "Good."  
"That's it? Good?"

He nodded. "I told you to stick it out with him, did I not?"

"You say that like I had any intentions of breaking it off with him."

"You'll get married and have babies - well, first you'll have ours and then you can have Liam's."

I giggled, ridiculously happy with how the entire day had turned out.

"What?"

"I'm just - really, really happy."

He slid his arm around my shoulders. "Good. You deserve to be."

We rode in silence, listening to the conversation in the front seat for a few moments before he spoke again.

"I'm pretty happy, too."

"Good. You definitely deserve it, too."

"Louis couldn't stop grinning all evening."

"I'd do anything to make you guys happy."

"You've always said that, but we never - we didn't want to ask too much of you."

"You haven't. I don't think you could," I assured him.

"We really weren't going to ask you yet, but I couldn't resist bringing it up. I didn't want you to misconstrue what Louis was saying to think that we wouldn't want you to carry our child. He just - "

"No, I get it. He doesn't want people thinking you got me pregnant by conventional means. Any baby I carry of yours is going to be through surrogacy. He doesn’t want people getting the wrong idea anymore than they already have."

"You'll have to have a serious conversation with Liam about it sometime."

"I know he's totally fine with it. I mean, he loves you two as much as I do, but yeah. I think it'll be a bit harder being okay with it in practice than it is in theory. We've got time to get used to the idea, though."

Harry nodded.

"And if, god forbid, we break up before you two are ready to have a child, I'm still on board. Like I said, I wouldn't want to be with someone who wasn't okay with me doing this for you."

"You'll be 'Auntie Riley' or something."

"Your kid's gonna be spoiled rotten."

"We're not that bad."

"Not just you two," I insisted. "You'll be the first of the band to have kids, in all likelihood, and that means he or she will have three very rich uncles to spoil her."

"Do you have any idea how spoiled you're gonna be?" he asked. "I mean, Liam will be coddling you and realizing that he wants children of his own and wants you to have them. He'll be making sure everything in the pregnancy goes well, just to be sure that you're willing to go through it again with him. And then Niall and Zayn, as you said, will be uncles to the little one and they'll be less likely to hover, but they're going to be afraid of letting anything happen to you, too - "

"And you love pregnant ladies. You love babies. You won't be able to keep your hands off of me and Liam will be torn between letting you because it's your baby and slapping you because I'm his girl."

Harry grinned.

"And Lou will be so freaking excited and happy about the whole thing. He'll light up every room he walks into even more than he does now."

"And he'll be touchy-feely with you just as much as me," Harry added.

"And he'll probably make me cry a lot. Just because he'll be so happy and I'll have all those hormones and shit." I smiled.

"Yeah, it'll be great."

I chuckled. "I can't believe this is my life."

"We've still got to find a way out of the closet, babe," he reminded me with a sigh.

"You'll make it. We all will."

 

\---

 

"I love you."

"Lii-am, you are ridiculous." I giggled as he snuggled into my shoulder.

"But I do."

"I know."

"And you're leaving tomorrow."

"I know." I sighed.

"So I want to make sure you really know."

"It's not like we aren't going to talk every day, baby," I reminded him.

"But I won't be able to see the way your eyes light up when you say it back to me. Technology only reaches so far," he insisted, pressing a kiss to my shoulder.

"I'm so lucky."

"I'm so lucky."

"I'm dating Liam Payne."

"I am Liam Payne."

I chuckled. "What?"

"I feel lucky to be me," he insisted.

"You're in love with me."

"Yeah."

"I'm pretty lucky."

"You're amazing. I can't believe I got you to fall in love with me."

I pressed a kiss to his hair. "Believe it. I'm totally in love with you."

 

\---

 

"What have you told your parents about me?" I asked.

He wrapped his arm around me, pulling me closer to him. "Are you still worried about seeing them?"

"I don't want them to think you deserve better than me," I admitted in a small voice.

Liam pressed a kiss to my cheek. "They aren't going to think that. If anything, they're going to wonder why you chose me."

"Yeah, right."

"If Louis and Harry have their way, they'll have everyone convinced you deserve better."

"They love you," I reminded him.

"I think they love you just a little bit more."

"Harry told me to marry you. I don't think he's going to be convincing your parents that you don't deserve me."

Liam snorted. "He'll make sure I know how lucky I am to have you, regardless."

"But really, your parents - "

"Will love you. They'll be happy that I'm happy."

"I want them to like me."

"They will," he assured me.

"My parents - they don't think much of me and they didn't think much of Harry - "

"They didn't like Harry?!"

"They've never been very supportive of me, but they're my family, so I dealt with it. I'd just rather - well, I'd rather not have to deal with them anymore."

"Harry and Louis have pretty much adopted you into their family," Liam reminded me.

I nodded. "Yeah, they're pretty great."

"My mum'll love you," Liam whispered. "And my dad will probably tease you about how long it took for us to get together."

I smiled. "I didn't exactly want to meet them in my pajamas." I chuckled at the memory. "But it did give them the wrong idea."

"He already knew I liked you. He was teasing me."

"And I totally didn't catch that at the time." I sighed.

"We got there," he assured me. "Took a little more time, but we got there."

 

\---

 

"We'll be home in a few days," Liam reminded me.

"I know. I just don't like saying goodbye to you."

"Then don't. Just say 'I love you. I'll call you later.' and leave it at that."

I smiled, rolling my eyes. "I'll call you later."

His lips met mine, briefly, before he smirked. "And?"

"I love you."

I kissed him again before a knock sounded at the door.

"That would be my ride."

"I love you."

"It's only a few days this time," I reminded him.

"We'll get a night to ourselves before my parents arrive."

I nodded. "I work that afternoon, but I'll just plan to come over after."

"They won't care if you stay the whole time," he said.

"I've gotta go, Li. We'll talk about this later."

He sighed. "Okay. Love you."

I opened the door to assure them that I was on my way out the door. I turned, pressed a kiss to Liam's lips and hugged him. "Love you."

"Ready, Riley?" George asked.

"Shouldn't you be with Harry?"

George laughed, turning to let me follow him down the hall to the elevator. "I was ordered to get you to the train station."

"I could make it myself," I pointed out. "I am old enough to take a taxi."

"I assume you haven't been online today?"

I shook my head, shooting him a confused look as we stepped into the elevator.

"Some fans got pictures of you at the show last night."

I sighed. "Damn it. We were so careful."

"Yeah, well, Louis and Harry didn't want to worry about you making it out of here, so they volunteered my services."

I snorted. "'Volunteered,' I'm sure."

"They're a bit protective of you."

I nodded.

"I think they thought Harry's bodyguard taking his 'girlfriend' to the train station might be a better cover for the weekend, too."

"Oh, in case we're spotted."

He nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting this and off to the zoo with my niece and nephew!
> 
> Update Thursday! I'm just all kinds of on top of things right now :)
> 
> Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!!!!


	24. Home Again

_Good morning, beautiful_

**_Morning, Li_ **

_What're you doing right now?_

**_About to hop in the shower_ **

_Skype me in?_

**_Liam!_ **

_It was just a request ;)_

**_You can join me tomorrow night._ **

_I will take you up on that._

**_I'll hold you to it._ **

 

\---

 

"You seem distracted."

"What?" I asked.

Luke and Alyssa laughed.

"He said you seem distracted."

"Oh, yeah, sorry," I apologized.

"You can leave as soon as you've got these boxes done," Luke offered.

"I don't - "

"I know your boyfriend's home today," Luke added.

Alyssa chuckled. "You've been distracted all day."

"I only needed both of you today to get the shipment put away. Wednesdays aren't busy enough to need both of you here otherwise."

"Okay," I conceded with a grin. "I don't have a problem leaving early."

Luke laughed and walked back to the office, leaving Alyssa and I alone in the front.

"You have any big plans for tonight?" Alyssa asked, wiggling her eyebrows in a suggestive manner.

I giggled. "I'm just excited to see him."

"You saw him this weekend," she reminded me.

"Yeah, but that was at a hotel," I replied. "I'm excited to have him home for a bit before he's off touring the world again."

"Didn't you say his parents were coming to town?"

I nodded. "They're coming tomorrow and staying for the boys' shows."

"Not gonna get much alone time like that."

"Yeah, well, I see him more than they do, so I've got to be nice and share."

She laughed.

 

\---

 

"Nice to see you, too, love," Louis called after me as I rushed to my room to change.

"Sorry! I'm gross, give me a minute," I replied. I changed into a colorful summer dress with a quick glance in the mirror to check my makeup before returning to the living room.

"Did you miss us?" Harry smiled up at me.

"Of course."

"And that's why you're leaving us to go see your boyfriend?"

"His parents are coming tomorrow?" I offered as an excuse.

"I'm sure that's the only reason you're rushing over there." Louis smirked.

"I'll be back - "

"Tomorrow," Harry insisted. "I've got everything set up for us to have a spa day before my mum comes for the weekend."

"A spa day?! That's your surprise date?" I asked, grinning.

"I thought you'd like it."

I sat down next to him on the couch and leaned in to hug him. "It sounds great."

"We'll take some cheesy couple pictures for Twitter, but otherwise I think we can just relax."

"Weren't you leaving?" Louis asked, teasing.

"Didn't you want me to stay?" I replied.

"Yeah, but I know you aren't going to. I didn't think you were getting off 'til later this afternoon."

"I wasn't supposed to, but Luke let me go. He noticed how distracted I was and took pity on me." I laughed.

"Can't imagine why you'd be distracted."

I rolled my eyes and stood up to leave. "Have a good night."

"Oh, you do the same," Louis replied.

 

\---

 

I knocked on Liam's door a couple times before opening it and cautiously walking in.

"Babe?" I called out, following the noise I heard to the kitchen, assuming it'd be him.

I turned the corner to almost run into Geoff, Liam's dad, on his way out of the kitchen with a beer in hand.

"Oh, hi - uh - " I stuttered, surprised.

"Liam's unpacking," Geoff replied.

"I didn't realize he'd have company," I felt the need to explain my entering the house, a blush creeping up my cheeks. "He doesn't usually hear the door, so - " I stepped back, awkwardly turning to head towards Liam's room.

"We surprised him a day early. He said you'd be by later."

"Oh, yeah, I got off early."

Geoff nodded and then let out a little chuckle. "Go ahead, I know you didn't come to see me."

I grinned apologetically and took off down the hall towards my boyfriend. The door was shut, but I cautiously opened it and shut it behind me as I heard the shower running. His suitcase was open on the floor next to his bed, a random assortment of folded and wadded up clothing. I took a seat on the bed to wait for him, too freaked out by the presence of his parents in the house to join him like I wanted.

Liam came out of the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam, a few minutes later, a towel draped around his hips.

He grinned when he saw me. "You could've joined me, you know."

"I could've," I admitted.

"My parents are here," he sighed, knowing that made me nervous.

"Yeah, I ran into your dad. He took pity and directed me here instead of making me stutter over my surprise at them being here."

"My mum ran to the store for me," Liam said.

"I wondered why I didn't see her."

He walked over to shuffle through his drawers, pulling out a pair of boxers before dropping the towel and tugging them on.

"Harry's taking me to the spa tomorrow," I told him, trying to distract myself from the sight of him getting dressed.

"Yeah, he mentioned that," Liam replied, pulling a pair of jeans out of a drawer before walking over to his closet.

There was a knock at his bedroom door.

"Yeah?" Liam called.

Geoff stuck his head in the door, cautiously, before pushing the door open upon seeing me sitting innocently  on the bed. "Your mum's back. She says she needs to know where everything goes." Geoff rolled his eyes good-naturedly in my direction.

I smiled.

"Give me a minute," Liam replied from the closet.

"I know my way around the kitchen," I offered, standing to follow him back down the hall. I took a deep breath when he wasn't looking, assuring myself that this wasn't a big deal. "It's not like he cooks much," I added.

Geoff chuckled. "Probably a good thing."

We reached the kitchen and Karen greeted me with a hug, to my surprise.

"Sorry to surprise you like this," she apologized. "But it is good to see you."

"Yeah, no, it's fine. Unexpected, but not a big deal," I replied. "I'll be out of your hair tomorrow - "

"Oh, no, dear, don't think you're intruding," Karen insisted with a small smile.

"What'd Li have you get?" I asked, turning my attention to the grocery bags.

"Oh, he didn't seem to have much - so I just got stuff to last him the week."

I nodded, grabbing the boxes of cereal to place them in the correct cabinet.

"Thanks, Mum," Liam said, pressing a kiss to her cheek as he joined us in the kitchen. He helped me put everything away, brushing against me a little more often than necessary as we moved around the kitchen.

I grabbed a bag of cans and slipped out into the pantry to put them away and turned to find Liam grinning.

"I haven't gotten a kiss yet," he informed me.

"I hadn't noticed," I shrugged, teasing him.

His hand slipped around my waist, pulling me towards him as he leaned down to press our lips together.

"I missed you," he sighed against my lips.

I kissed him again. "Your parents are like ten feet away."

"They can wait," he muttered, brushing his lips to mine again.

"You know you don't have to hide in the pantry, this being your house and all, son," Geoff called.

I blushed as Liam chuckled and grabbed my hand to follow him out of the pantry. "Had to give my girl a proper 'hello' is all."

"I think you'll have all night to give her a proper - "

"Geoff!" Karen cut him off with a slap to his shoulder.

Geoff just laughed.

"Excuse him, Riley, he has no manners," Karen said, pretending to glare at her husband.

"I don't get to tease the boy nearly enough about this," he protested.

"I beg to differ," Liam said.

"Watching you pine after her is different," Geoff replied.

"I wouldn't say I was pining after her," he insisted.

I chuckled as his mother caught my eye, mouthing 'he so was' at me when her son wasn't looking.

"What would you call it then?"

Liam glanced at me. "It was just a crush."

"Bit more than that," his mother said.

Liam shot her a glare.

"It's only pathetic until you get the girl," I offered, grinning up at him. "So it's not technically pathetic anymore."

"Are you calling me pathetic?"

I shrugged, shooting his parents a knowing look.

"You really didn't know he liked you when we met you last?" Karen asked.

I shook my head. "I thought we were just friends."

"He may be pathetic, but you're pretty clueless yourself, doll," Geoff chuckled.

My mouth opened in protest as I turned towards him.

Karen laughed. "I think everyone knew but you. Anne asked me if you two were seeing each other long before you actually started seeing each other. She said Jay had mentioned it to her."

Liam chuckled, pressing a kiss to my temple.

"And no one told me?"

"Louis and Harry were kind of - " Liam paused, shooting his parents a glance.

"Overprotective?" I offered.

"They didn't want to share you, more like," Liam replied.

"Louis did take some convincing," I conceded. "I'd decided I liked you before they ever told me you had a thing for me."

"Possessive," Liam muttered.

I shrugged. "It all worked out."

 

\---

 

"Don’t be weird about this," Liam murmured, pressing his lips to my neck.

"I don't want to have sex with them - "

"Oh, no, that's not happening," Liam assured me.

"So it is weird for you, too?" I asked.

He sucked a mark into my collarbone before replying. "For our first time - " He pressed a kiss to the corner of my jaw. " - I want - to make - you scream - my name - " His tongue slid across my bottom lip before slipping inside, caressing mine as his hands slid up and down my sides.

"You're very - confident."

"I just wanna take you apart. Inch by inch. Orgasm by orgasm," he breathed, staring into my eyes.

"Fuck, Li."

"That's the idea."

"It won't be 'til they've left, then."

He nodded.

"And when are they leaving, again?" I asked, suddenly anxious for their departure.

"A couple days."

I whined. "Sounds like forever."

"I'll make it worth it," he assured me with a small smirk.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update this weekend. Probably Sunday.  
> Thanks for reading :)


	25. Fighting Over Lingerie

"Harry's calling," Liam murmured, squinting at my phone before answering it, quickly hitting the button for speaker phone. "Good morning."

"Let me talk to Riley," Harry replied.

"It's on speaker, love," I informed him, groggily as I was still working my way into being fully awake.

"Katherine called."

"This morning?" I asked, waking up a bit faster.

"She's set up reservations for us tonight at some fancy restaurant where a whole bunch of people can get our picture," Harry growled. "I tried to tell her we had plans all day, but she wouldn't listen."

"If we don't return from the spa, what's she going to do?" I asked.

"I don't like to think about what she can do. Besides, don't think Liam would like that much."

"Not much, no," Liam conceded.

I groaned. "I thought she'd wait at least 'til tomorrow to get on our cases."

My phone beeped with an incoming call.

"Oh shit," I said, checking who was calling. "She's calling, I gotta go."

"Make sure you take it off of speaker phone," Harry advised before hanging up.

I gestured for Liam to be quiet as I answered the phone. "Hello?"

"I've already informed Harry, but I wanted to make sure you got the message. You've got reservations at The Dorchester tonight at eight. I've had a few dresses sent to your place; choose whichever you prefer and send the rest back. They should arrive this afternoon - "

"Harry did tell you that we're going to be at the spa all day, didn't he?"

"Yes, but you should have plenty of time to get dressed and go to dinner. There will be paparazzi and I expect you to look your best and be on your best behavior."

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else," I replied, dryly.

"I'll speak with you tomorrow. I'll send someone to pick up the spare dresses." Click.

"She's always such a joy," I told Liam, looking over to see him texting someone. "Who're you talking to this early?"

"Louis."

"Tell him to just pick a dress for me and send the rest back."

Liam looked up. "What?"

"She's sending dresses for me. I'm supposed to pick one. Louis can do it. He knows what I look good in."

He frowned.

"He knows what I like," I amended with a chuckle.

"Harry's coming to get you."

"He better bring me some clothes, if he doesn't want me wearing something of yours."

Liam shook his head. "You've got jeans and a couple shirts here," he said, looking down at his phone.

"I do? Where?"

"I - uh - "

I quirked an eyebrow at him as his gaze rose to meet mine.

"Bottom left drawer. I cleared it for you."

I grinned. "I get a drawer?"

"It's not a big deal," he insisted, turning back to his phone. The small smile on his face told a different story.

I pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Thanks."

He grinned.

I climbed out of bed and walked over to check out my new drawer space.

"You'll have to go commando or wear a pair of my boxers if you don't want to reuse yesterday's - "

"Is Harry on his way already?"

A quick text and he shook his head. "About to leave."

I gestured for him to toss me the phone and quickly tapped the button to call Louis.

"Hey," Louis answered.

"Love, could you have Harry grab me some clean panties?" I asked, ignoring the shocked look on Liam's face. "He knows his way around my room and the pink bra that I like - he should know what I'm talking about."

Louis chuckled. "How does Liam look right now?"

"A bit shocked and offended that Harry knows more about my lingerie than he does."

A laugh burst out of Louis. "I'll tell him. He'll be on his way soon."

"Thanks."

"Later, love."

"Mwah," I mouthed a kiss to the phone before hanging up.

"Can I ask - why Harry knows his way around your room and - more specifically - around your lingerie drawer?"

I laughed, tossing the jeans and a shirt onto the top of the dresser before climbing back in to press a kiss to his lips.

"Riley," he insisted.

"He's my roommate and my best friend and he's watched me dress and undress a million times."

Liam's eyebrows shot up his forehead.

"I have to dress up for dates a lot," I reminded him. "Real dates with you and fake dates with him."

"Are you saying he's your fashion consultant?" Liam asked, skeptical.

"Please tell me you aren't going to do a whole jealous thing right now when I'm about to leave and spend the day with him."

"Why does he know about 'the pink bra you like'?" Liam frowned.

"Because after I bought it, I talked about it for days because it's so comfortable and it's pink so it's fun and the two so rarely combine in a bra."

Liam just looked at me with a small pout to his lips.

"Can we go have breakfast with your parents without you acting weird and jealous?"

"I'm not being weird, Riley. The whole situation is weird."

"Can I remind you that he's in a very serious relationship with another man?"

"I don't like it."

I sat back, glaring at him slightly. "Seriously?"

"I watch you two - "

"Snogging on a regular basis, I know. I'm there. We somehow find our way back to this over and over again, despite the fact that I told you in the beginning to back out if you couldn't handle it." I started to climb back off of the bed, away from him.

"No, babe," he started, getting out on his side of the bed to come around, following me to the door. "I am fine with that. I'm just trying to wrap my mind around the fact that the man who was calling you 'sexy' a few days ago sees you in the nude on a regular basis."

"I'm never nude around him. In lingerie, yes. There's a significant difference there."

"Not much left to the imagination, though, is there?" he shot back.

"Are we seriously having a fight about this?"

"No. I just want you to acknowledge that it's weird. I don't want you prancing around in front of other men in your underwear."

"It's not other men, it's just Harry."

"Just because he's desperately in love with Louis doesn't mean he's not a guy, Riley."

"Are you going to throw a fit about the masseuse today, too? I mean some other guy's gonna have his hands all over me." I glared up at him. "Are we going to have a jealous fit about that?"

"I'm not having a jealous fit - "

"This is stupid, Liam." I cut him off before turning and opening the bedroom door to leave.

He grabbed my arm to stop me. "Riley - "

"Let me go, Liam."

He let go of my arm with a growl of frustration.

I turned before we reached the kitchen and he almost ran into me. "Harry is my best friend. You are the man I'm in love with. Don't get the two confused," I said.

His mouth dropped open like he didn't know how to respond and I turned and walked into the kitchen.

"G'morning," I greeted his parents, cheerfully. "Hope you slept well."

They both nodded. Geoff was focused on his iPad which I noticed had a newspaper pulled up, but Karen looked up to speak to me.

"We did. Is Liam still sleeping?" she asked and I realized I'd left Liam in the hallway.

"No, he's right - "

"Morning, mum, dad," he greeted them, appearing in the kitchen. He walked over and placed a kiss to his mother's cheek before joining me in front of the cereal cabinet. "Sorry, forgot to request cocoa puffs for you," he murmured, grabbing the frosted flakes. I glanced over at him and he paused, dropping his voice to a whisper. "I'm sorry. It's stupid. We'll talk about it later?"

I nodded.

"Love you," he whispered, pressing a kiss to my cheek.

I smiled, turning to the next cabinet to grab bowls for the both of us. "Think I'll settle for frosted flakes."

"There's tea on the stove," Karen told us.

"Better eat fast, love, H should be here pretty quick."

I nodded.

"Leaving us already?" Karen inquired.

"Spa day with Harry," I told her, pouring milk over my cereal before sitting down next to her.

"Spa day? That boy does know how to treat a woman," she said, shooting a smirk towards her son.

"They've got a publicity thing tonight, too."

"You'll get this boy to yourself for twenty-four hours," I told her.

"Not coming back tonight?" Geoff asked.

I shook my head. "We've got dinner reservations and it'll probably be pretty late before we head home."

"They haven't got you booked for tomorrow?" Karen asked.

"Not yet. Probably be told to do something with Anne this weekend while she's in town. You could probably join us," I offered. "They usually aren't too picky about that stuff. As long as you don't mind dealing with the pictures. And the whole 'Harry's in love with me' illusion."

Geoff laughed. "I don't know how you do it."

I shrugged with a chuckle. "Pose for the right pictures. Kiss him when people are looking and tease him about his boyfriend when they're not. Well, now we tease each other about what our boyfriends will think."

"And they're both okay with it?"

I shot a guilty look at Liam. "They're - "

"We deal with it for the sake of not pissing off management anymore than we have to," Liam replied shortly.

"Touchy subject?" Karen asked, apologetically.

I glanced at Liam and nodded. "Not always, but today it is."

Liam's jaw tightened in frustration for a moment before there was a knock at the door and then a hesitant. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, we're in the kitchen," I called back.

"He's got impeccable timing," Geoff muttered, never looking up from his tablet.

Harry dropped a bag into my lap upon entering the kitchen. "As requested, madam."

I grinned up at him. "Thanks."

Liam looked irritated.

"Finish up. We've got facials and couple's massage and manis and pedis to get to." Harry grinned.

"Definitely knows how to treat a girl," Karen muttered, nudging my arm.

Liam scowled and stood up, walking out of the room, grabbing Harry's arm to drag him behind. Harry shot me a panicked look and I shrugged, sympathetically.

"Are they - " Karen started, pausing to shoot me a worried look.

"It's - I think it's fine?" I replied, unsure.

I shoveled the last few bites of cereal into my mouth and stood to follow them.

"Good luck," Geoff muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't be all smooth sailing for these two, can it? :( 
> 
> Thanks for reading! :D


	26. Size Matters

I found them standing in the living room, talking in lowered voices. I walked over to cut in between them, pressing a hand to Liam's chest to get him to back up.

"What's going on?" I asked. "What's the problem?"

"I'm just telling him where the line is," Liam said, shooting daggers with his eyes over my shoulder.

I turned to see Harry looked completely lost.

"Liam, this has nothing to do with him."

He looked away, shooting me a skeptical look.

"We've got to go soon, just - " I grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the bedroom. " - come talk to me."

He frowned, but conceded to follow me down the hallway. I shut the door behind us and tossed the bag of clothes Harry had brought onto the dresser before turning to look at him.

"Seriously, what's the problem, babe?" I asked, my hands sliding up and down his sides in what I hoped was a comforting manner.

"I don't want him looking at you," Liam muttered, hesitantly.

"Liam, it's not like that with us."

"You say that, but then you let it slip that he knows his way around your bedroom - "

"I know my way around their room just as much," I insisted. "We're comfortable in each other's space is all. A little too comfortable, maybe. I mean, I accidentally found their box of sex toys once - "

Liam chuckled.

" - but it's just a friend thing. I swear."

"I just - "

"Haven't you ever told Niall he looked good? Or Zayn that he looked sexy? It's what you tell your friends. You tell them they look good. You're just freaked out because my best friend happens to be a guy instead of a girl that's saying these things about me."

Liam sighed.

"Do you trust me, babe?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course," he answered immediately.

"And do you trust Harry?"

He nodded.

"Then this is a non-issue. We would never do anything to hurt you - any of us. Not intentionally. But I'm not going to stop getting ready for dates with Harry and I don't want you to ask me to. Regardless of how much clothing I have on. It's one of our things. Like, Saturday morning cartoons and making Louis breakfast in bed on special occasions."

He sighed. "I still don't like it, but I don't think it's my right to tell you what to do, either. Just - I'll try to deal with it."

I pressed a kiss to his lips, hoping it was really the end of this argument. "I don't like fighting."

"Me neither."

"It's not the best impression for me to give your parents, either." I frowned.

"You don't have to deal with them the rest of the day," he reminded me. "They'll want to know what happened, but won't want to invade my privacy and dance around the issue."

I chuckled. "While I get to go get a massage and a facial and - "

He cut me off with a kiss. "You need to get dressed."

I sighed, stepping away from him towards the dresser to pull out the lingerie Harry had brought. He'd brought more than one pair of panties and I chuckled. "Guess I've got some for my drawer, so we don't have to do this again."

Liam smirked. "Smart man."

"He didn't even know I have a drawer."

"Well, he probably didn't know what to pick, then."

I laughed again as I pulled out a skimpy thong. "Oh, I think he was just trying to prepare me for any eventuality here."

Liam pulled the thong from my fingers, holding it up and eyeing me up and down. "I could go for this."

I snatched it out of his fingers, tossing it into the bottom drawer along with everything else I wasn't planning to wear. I pulled my shirt off over my head and slipped on my bra, clasping it in the back.

"I could get used to this show every day."

"Too bad you're in a world-famous boy-band and will be leaving again in a week."

He frowned.

"I'm not gonna see you again 'til tomorrow," I reminded him. "I'm staying home tonight."

He nodded, watching as I finished dressing.

"Riley! We've gotta go!" Harry called.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and followed Liam back into the other room where Harry was waiting. Geoff and Karen had moved into the living room and glanced nervously between us as we entered.

"Bye, babe," I told Liam, pressing a quick kiss to his lips.

"Have fun," he replied. "Love you."

I grinned. "Love you, too. See you tomorrow."

 

\---

 

"So what's going on there?" Harry asked as soon as we'd gotten into his car.

I sighed. "I might've pushed the teasing a bit too far."

He shot me a confused look. "What d'you mean?"

"I was standing in front of Liam when I told Louis to tell you to grab the pink bra that I like."

Harry chuckled. "Not comfortable with the idea that I know my way around your lingerie?"

I shook my head. "And definitely not comfortable with my explanation of you knowing your way around my lingerie."

Harry nodded, listening.

"Does it bother Louis?"

Harry shook his head. "But that's a bit different. He's usually around when we're getting dressed, too. You walk between your room and ours in barely anything and I'm rarely dressed at home." He shrugged.

"I don't think it's a big deal."

"What exactly did he say?"

"He doesn't like you seeing me like that."

"You guys still haven't had sex?" he asked.

"Not yet."

"That might be part of the problem."

"That we haven't had sex?" I asked, skeptical.

"In his mind, maybe, you haven't done anything with him that you didn't do with me first - "

"That's ridiculous. We've done plenty of stuff that I wouldn't and haven't done with you. Louis'd kill me."

Harry chuckled. "Remind him of that? But don't bring it up like about me or anything. Like, I don't know, what do you guys like to do?"

"Showering together is kind of our thing at the moment."

Harry nodded. "Don't say: 'I've never showered with Harry.' Say: 'Li, if we can't go all the way, I still love getting to see you naked and wet - '"

"You sound like a romance novel," I giggled.

"You get my point?"

"Dirty talk is your great answer to my problems?"

"If you aren't having sex, yeah. Although, dirty talk during sex is fun, too."

"We're actually planning to," I admitted. "He wanted to wait 'til we had the place to ourselves."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "He thinks you're a screamer."

I slapped his arm. "Do you think I'm a screamer?"

He quirked an eyebrow at me. "I think given the right circumstances, anybody can be a screamer."

"What does that mean?"

"You've seen him, right?"

"Uh, yeah, the nickname holds true."

"Nickname?"

"Ten-inch Payne?" I offered with a small blush.

Harry chuckled. "Oh, yeah. Well, have you - uh, been with someone that big before?"

I shook my head.

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Size matters?"

"Haven't you only been with Louis?" I asked.

Harry nodded. "Doesn't mean I don't know things."

"How big is Louis? - Wait, should I know that?"

"Uh, eight and a half-ish. I'm about nine."

"So Liam's bigger," I remarked, thoughtful.

"Liam's biggest in the group, yeah."

"Does he hold that over your heads?" I chuckled.

Harry shook his head with a laugh. "You really think Liam would do that."

 

\---

 

"Oh my god," I murmured as soon as the masseuse's fingers pushed into my back.

"I hope that's a good 'oh my god'," Harry murmured from next to me, clearly enjoying his massage as well. They had asked if we had a preference on the gender of our masseuses when we'd arrived and we'd exchanged a look and laughed as Harry said we'd both prefer men, since we thought they'd be a little 'rougher' when we both knew we just wanted men to shove in our boyfriends' faces later.

"I freaking love you," I mumbled towards Harry.

He chuckled slightly before groaning. "Yeah, yeah, I know you do."

 

\---

 

"How long have you been together?" the lady applying the gunk to my face asked.

"Uh, ten months? We got together last July, so almost ten months," I replied.

"Has it only been that long?" Harry asked.

I chuckled. "Yeah, babe. Unbelievable, right?"

"Big plans tonight?" she asked.

"Fancy dinner," I replied with a shrug. "I did get a new dress for the occasion, though."

"Oh, what's it look like?"

I grinned. "Dunno. I let him buy it for me."

"A man with taste?"

"Pretty good taste, yeah."

"She looks gorgeous in everything," Harry remarked. "It's easy to shop for her."

"Awww."

 

\---

 

"Can I have a light pink on my fingers?" I asked. "And bright red on my toes."

"I'll have the same," Harry said with a laugh.

The lady's eyes looked over at him in shock, not sure if he was serious.

"You should totally do your toes in red," I giggled.

"No, I'll just have the clear overcoat," he said.

"Pleeeaaase?" I whined, leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek.

"No way, babe. I've got a show tomorrow."

"Yeah, and you'll wear boots like always and no one will ever see."

We stared each other down for a moment.

"No."

I frowned.

"Some other time."

"I'll hold you to that."

The manicurists were both trying not to look weirded out by our conversation when we turned back to them. I giggled again.

"Just clear for me."

 

\---

 

"Oh, you're all loose," Louis murmured, pulling Harry into a kiss.

"Should I leave tonight?" I asked, eyeing them both.

"Nah, it's fine," Harry assured me, turning away from Louis. Louis moved to wrap his arms around him from behind.

"He's just really pliable after a massage," Louis hummed, pressing a kiss into Harry's neck.

"He still has to go to dinner with me," I reminded him.

"The dress is on your bed," Louis told me between kisses. Harry was quickly becoming putty in his hands. "I'll make sure to get a good picture for your boyfriend - you're gonna look hot."

"Seriously, you have like thirty minutes 'til we're leaving. Go. Hurry up."

Harry grinned. "Thank you." Louis pulled him towards their bedroom.

"And keep it down. I'm turning music on loud. When it stops you better be done."

"Thanks, love," Louis called back. "It won't take long."

"No limping!"

"Yes, ma'am."

 

\---

 

**_I'm getting dressed for a date with a man that's in the middle of a quickie in the other room._ **

_Seriously? Lol_

**_Apparently Harry's "really pliable after a massage"_ **

_Hmmm, what about you?_

**_? What about me?_ **

_Pliable?_

**_I'm feeling really good. That's all I'm gonna give you. If they don't cool off, I'm escaping back to yours tonight, tho._ **

_I'd be absolutely okay with that._

**_I know. I'll let you know if I'm headed that way later._ **

_Lou promised a picture of you in that dress. Heard it's pretty great._

**_Yeah, Lou said I'd look hot._ **

_Seeing it in person would be even better ;D_

**_No promises. I didn't know they'd get like this after a massage._ **

_We're definitely going for massages together someday._

**_Yeah?_ **

_And then we'll fuck long and slow afterwards. Make you cum over and over and_

**_Liam!_ **

_Over. Test my recovery rate pretty thoroughly._

**_I really hope you aren't sitting next to your parents right now._ **

_We're at dinner._

**_Fuck, Li._ **

_They know nothing._

**_So wrong._ **

_So so right. Can't wait to feel you wrapped around me._

**_Okay. I can't do this right now._ **

_:(_

**_I'm definitely coming back tonight._ **

_:D_

**_I still owe you a shower._ **

_Yess_

**_Can't wait to feel your hands all over me._ **

_And my dad just looked over my shoulder._

**_WHAT?!_ **

**_OHMYGOD_ **

_I covered. He didn't see anything._

_He's smirking at me, tho._

**_I won't be able to look them in the face again._ **

_We slept together last night. I think they know._

**_WE HAVEN'T EVEN HAD SEX AND I'M NOT GOING TO BE ABLE TO LOOK YOUR FATHER IN THE EYES._ **

_You're being a tad dramatic._

**_LIAM_ **

_It'll be okay. Enjoy dinner._

**_LIAM I'm in my room alone and I'm blushing._ **

_I'll see you tonight :D_

**_I hate you._ **

 

\---

 

"So I took your suggestion," I told Harry over dinner.

"Uh-huh. Which one?"

"Dirty talk."

He smirked. "How'd it go?"

"Well, we were texting."

Harry just looked at me, waiting for me to continue as I slowly took a sip of water.

"He kind of started it, but then I sort of went with it and apparently his dad decided to look over his shoulder - "

Harry cackled.

I glared over at him with a pout on my lips. "It's not funny."

"It's hilarious."

"How am I supposed to look these people in the eye ever again."

"Did he actually see anything?"

I shook my head. "Liam says he covered his phone up fast enough, but that made his dad suspicious, so he was smirking at him."

Harry laughed again. "Oh, baby, that's hilarious." He added the endearment as he saw our waiter approaching, reaching out to hold my hand on top of the table.

 

\---

 

"I'm going to Liam's after we get back - or, well, if you want to drop me there. As long as we aren't followed or something ridiculous."

"I thought you were staying tonight." Harry frowned.

"Yeah, well, after earlier - and I kind of promised Liam a shower."

Harry chuckled. "You sure you can face his parents?"

"Don't remind me." I shot him a glare and he continued to laugh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The news with Zayn has definitely rocked my world, but I'm happy that he's choosing his own happiness and I think its a good lesson for everyone. Nothing is worth sacrificing your own happiness. I look forward to seeing what this new four-piece One Direction is going to be like and what they will do together. I sincerely hope that they stick it out and I even more sincerely hope that they get the hell away from their management company that only cares about lining their pockets.
> 
> All that being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter :) and I hope you all are doing okay. It's been a rough week to be a Directioner, that's for sure.  
> Love you all!  
> I love comments and kudos and hits and everything, so just by reading this, you're helping encourage me to keep writing. Thank you.


	27. Like a Teenager

Liam met me at the door and we waved Harry on.

"My parents already went to bed," Liam whispered, shutting the door and locking it behind us.

"I feel like I'm sneaking in," I replied with a smirk.

"I didn't tell them you were coming."

"It's your house," I reminded him.

"You look amazing."

I grinned. "I've been told that a few times."

"Louis has good taste."

We walked quickly down the hall and slipped inside his room, closing the door behind us.

"How was dinner?" Liam asked, walking into the bathroom and turning on the shower.

"Delicious."

"Anything I should be warned about?" he asked, returning to stand in front of me.

I squinted up at him. "What d'you mean?"

"I haven't seen any of the paparazzi pics or anything. I just figured I'd ask if I should be prepared for full-on snogging - might make it easier to handle."

"Oh. Uh, we kissed a few times." I shrugged. "Mostly the usual hand-holding and talking in low voices so that our heads are close together."

"No tongue?"

I shook my head and he looked a bit relieved.

"You could've given restrictions for the night, you know," I told him. "I mean, you are allowed to ask."

He shrugged.

"We had an argument this morning," I reminded him with a frown. "Harry and me kind of keep that in mind when we have to do this stuff."

"Good to know."

"You okay?" I asked.

He pulled me into a hug. "Yeah, I'm fine. We're good."

"Are you sure your dad didn't see anything earlier?"

Liam chuckled. "He glanced over my shoulder and I flipped my phone over fast enough that he knew. That's all. And you obviously weren't there and I wouldn't be sexting anyone else."

I groaned, pressing my face to his chest. "Oh, god. I hope the word 'sexting' did not cross his mind."

"It's fine. And don't let this keep you from doing it again," he added, his hands reaching around to unzip my dress.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I like it." He pushed my dress off my shoulders, leaning in to press a kiss to my neck. "Like knowing what I do to you."

I stepped out of the dress and pulled him towards the bathroom. "Shower. C'mon."

He nodded, eagerly following me.

I reached into the shower to check the water temperature and turned around to see he'd quickly stripped off his shorts and top. He stepped out of his boxers before he looked up at me.

"Been thinking about me?" I teased, biting my lip as I noticed his erection.

"You've got less on in most of my fantasies," he replied, glaring down at the offending bra and panties.

I chuckled, quickly removing the lingerie. "What happens in these fantasies?" I asked, leaning in to press a kiss to his chest.

He hummed, thoughtfully, as he ran his fingers through my hair.

I ran my tongue across his left nipple, smiling as his breath caught.

"What do you want?" I asked, pulling him into the shower.

"You," he whispered.

I pressed a kiss to his lips as my hands skimmed across his chest, enjoying the hot water at my back. His tongue slid into my mouth, lightly thrusting in and out. I slowly wrapped my hand around his cock and a strangled groan escaped his throat. His mouth left mine, but he was still close enough that I could feel his breath across my lips as we both opened our eyes to stare at each other. I lightly bit my lip as I ran my thumb around the head of his cock.

"Riley," he dragged out the end of my name, a whine on his lips.

I smiled at him, pleased to see his eyes were a bit glazed over.

"You've gotta stay quiet," I reminded him with a smirk. "Your parents are down the hall."

"Fuck, babe."

"You look so good like this," I murmured, wrapping my other hand around him as well.

He mumbled something and I tugged lightly, twisting a little and leaning forward to kiss him again.

It wasn't long before he was clinging to my neck and spurting cum across my stomach, a filthy moan falling from his lips.

"Fuck, feel like a teenager."

I chuckled lightly, blushing as I looked up at him.

"It's been a while," he offered as an excuse, pressing a kiss to my lips.

"I certainly haven't been putting out, so I would hope so."

He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around so that the water would rinse off the mess he'd made of my stomach. His fingers rubbing across the white streaks as he pressed a kiss behind my ear.

"You're amazing," he murmured.

"I can't wait 'til your parents leave, no offense." I sighed.

He chuckled. "I'm feeling that way myself."

"We should stop. They're wonderful people."

He nodded. "Can we not talk about my parents this close to an orgasm?"

"If you insist." I giggled as his fingers pinched into my sides. "Don't tickle me!"

He paused long enough that I thought he was going to stop, even going so far as to start kissing my neck again. Then his fingers tickled my stomach and I giggled, turning to back away from him.

"Stop!" I laughed, pushing his hands away. As soon as I'd get a good grip on one hand I'd loose hold of the other; I finally darted out of the shower to get away from him, grabbing a towel in passing as I zipped into the bedroom.

"Riileyyy," Liam scolded, a teasing lilt to his voice. "You're getting water everywhere."

He chased me around the room, over the bed, and finally cornered me in the closet. I had the towel clasped in my hands and I snapped it towards him, trying to keep him away, giggling hysterically all the while.

"No, Li, don't." I laughed as he grabbed the towel and pulled it away from me.

Liam had a huge grin on his face. He stalked forward and reached out to tickle my stomach as I cringed away from him, unable to stop giggling. My knees gave out and I ended up laying on the closet floor, giggling and kicking at him as he tickled me. He got ahold of both of my hands and had my wrists trapped in one of his hands above my head when his touches became less torturous. He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine.

I vaguely registered that I could still hear the shower running and hoped the shower door had at least been closed.

His free hand slid down my side as his tongue slid across my lips. I sighed into the kiss as it deepened - our tongues sliding together as I felt his cock hardening against my thigh. I turned away from the kiss, unable to push him away with my hands still trapped in his.

He pulled back and looked at me, questioningly.

"We're still not having sex," I pouted. "Your parents are here."

He sighed, releasing my hands and sitting up. "Some people would consider what we just did sex."

"I got you off. I'm waiting for after your parents leave so I don't have to be quiet."

Liam's breath caught.

"You said you'd make me scream," I reminded him.

He nodded, eyes darkening.

"And Harry says size matters, although I don't know how he would know - "

Liam let out a laugh, standing up and pulling me to my feet. "Such a great time to bring him up."

"Thought it would kill the mood." I smirked.

"Definitely did that."

"He did say - "

"Were you talking to Harry about me?" he asked, threading our fingers together as we returned to the bathroom.

"Kind of," I admitted.

Liam shook his head. "Size matters? He's never been with anyone other than Louis."

"Well, he claims to know things."

Liam chuckled. "Not sure what to say here."

"I guess you wouldn't know if size matters."

He shook his head. "I've always been told you just have to know how to use what you've got."

I grabbed a comb out of the cabinet, running it through my hair as I looked into the mirror. We were both still completely undressed, but the running around had mostly dried us off. I'd have to take an actual shower involving soap in the morning, but I wasn't going to bother with it now.

"Guess you think you know how to use it," I teased.

"I owe you at this point."

I rolled my eyes. "I'd rather not keep track, but yeah."

"I'll make up for it."

"Are we bothering with clothes?" I asked, reaching for my toothbrush.

He smirked and leaned in to press a kiss to my bare shoulder. "I don't see a reason to."

I nodded with a small smile, squeezing a line of toothpaste onto my toothbrush. "Your parents - "

"Always knock," he assured me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day?! Yeah, I'm excited about what's coming up, so I went ahead and treated you all. We all need some nice little things to be excited about right now, right? :)


	28. A Knowing Glance

"G'morning," I greeted his parents upon entering the kitchen.

"Morning."

"Morning, dear. Sleep well?" Karen asked, a small smile playing across her lips.

I blushed, turning to grab the frosted flakes off of the top shelf. "Yeah - better than I would have at my place - I mean, Louis and Harry - uh - "

"I know what you mean, dear."

I nodded. "I - uh - hope I didn't wake you when I got here - it was pretty late."

"We heard some laughter and assumed you had decided to come back," Geoff replied.

"She's a bit ticklish," Liam explained with a grin as he entered the kitchen, coming over to press a kiss to my lips before I could protest.

"Hey," I objected as he swiped the frosted flakes box from my hands. "You're the one that couldn't keep his hands to himself."

A faint blush crossed his cheeks and I chuckled.

"What's your plans for today?" I asked his parents as I reached up and grabbed a few bowls from the cabinet for Liam and myself.

"Depends on what your plans are," Geoff said, glancing up from reading the news.

I shrugged, glancing over at Liam as I swiped two spoons from the utensil drawer.

"Uh, show tonight, but I don't think we've got to be there 'til late afternoon - "

My phone rang, cutting off his train of thought as I jogged back to his room to answer it.

"Hello?" I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.

"Riley? This is Martha," Katherine's assistant answered.

"G'morning, Martha," I greeted, glad I didn't have to deal with Katherine herself today.

"Katherine wanted me to pass along that she was pleased with last night's display."

"Good to know."

"But she wants you two to arrive to the show together tonight. Make sure you are seen. Together."

I nodded. "Okay."

"And she wanted me to remind you that you aren't to be seen with anyone else - "

"She wants me to speak to no one but Harry? No. Not happening."

"It's in your contract," Martha replied, shortly.

"Uhm, no, it's not. I know what I am and am not allowed to do," I replied, my voice rising.

"We don't need another incident - "

"That was stupid. I danced with another guy. That's it. It's not my fault he happened to be famous. Harry introduced us. Harry is the one that introduced us and I know it looked bad and I will make sure that it doesn't happen again - "

"There's no need to raise your voice."

"When you aren't listening to me, that tends to happen."

"Pay attention to what you're doing in the future and we won't have to deal with these kinds of things. You're Harry's girlfriend and only Harry's girlfriend. There will be no cheating scandal. There will be no 'coming out' story until we deem it appropriate for their - "

"I just wanted to point out that it was ridiculous to think I wouldn't talk to anyone the whole night."

"Fine. Point made. Just make sure it's very clear who you are with."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You'll be expected to spend some time with Harry's mother today or tomorrow. Katherine said she would leave that up to the two of you, but she wants to make sure that you do it. There will be pictures. There will be tweets. Make sure it's done."

"Okay." I was glaring at the floor when Liam peeked into the room.

"There will be another outing after the shows are over and before they leave next week."

"Okay." I gestured for Liam to stay quiet.

"You'll be paid well for your efforts."

"Great."

"I recommend you get in touch with Anne. She should be arriving in town this morning."

"Is that all?"

Liam frowned, only hearing one side of the conversation.

"That'll be all."

I hung up before she could say anything else.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked.

I rolled my eyes, gesturing for him to follow me back to the kitchen. "They like to think bringing up my contract will make me do anything they want me to."

"What'd they want?"

"Thought they could scare me into speaking to no one but Harry all night."

"Getting suspicious?" Liam threw me a worried glance.

I shrugged. "Kinda sounded like it."

"We'll have to be careful."

"We are careful. No one knows."

"No one knows what?" Karen asked as we entered the kitchen.

"That we're together."

"Work on toning back the lovey-dovey eyes, Liam," Geoff muttered.

Liam's mouth dropped open in protest and I laughed.

"We'll just - avoid looking at each other. I've said you're my best friend before, surely they buy that," I insisted.

"You're best friends with Louis, too. Don't think you look at him the way you do Liam," Karen pointed out.

Liam chuckled. "I would hope not."

I smacked his arm as I sat down at the table to finally pour milk over my cereal. "She said I'm supposed to get in touch with Anne to plan something. And I was told I was to arrive at the show with Harry later and make sure that we were seen. Together."

"I kind of figured that would be a requirement," Liam said.

 

\---

 

"Excited about tonight?" I asked.

Liam nodded.

"Nervous?"

"I hold off on getting nervous until right before we go on stage. That way I don't have time to freak out."

I chuckled.

"I'm glad you're spending a little time with my mum."

I shrugged. "She's sweet."

"She likes you."

"I'm glad."

He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Me too."

 

\---

 

"Jordan's coming tomorrow night," I reminded Harry on the way to the show. "She's not privy to the whole situation, so make sure - "

"I act like the protective boyfriend, I got it," Harry assured me. "Remind Liam not to act like the protective boyfriend."

I chuckled. "Already done."

"Going back to Li's tonight?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Might come home, since I didn't stay last night."

"We would like to have some time with you, too." Harry smiled.

"Yeah, but I don't think you really wanted me there last night anyways."

Harry laughed. "Well, Louis likes to - well, he thinks I'm fun to fuck after a day of luxury," Harry whispered. "How was your night with Liam?"

My cheeks pinked. "It was good."

"You still haven't…"

I shook my head. "His parents are in the house."

Harry chuckled. "Wouldn't stop me."

"I might have, uhm, given him some encouragement, but he's still pretty set on waiting for his parents to leave. He kind of owes me, now, though." I smirked.

"Oh, that could be fun to hold over his head the next couple days." Harry's eyes sparkled mischievously.

I shook my head. "Don't you dare say a word. He's still - weird about how close we are."

Harry mimed zipping his lips.

"Seriously," I insisted.

"I can't believe he left you hanging."

I giggled. "I didn't give him much choice - or warning."

"Quick and dirty can be fun." He wiggled his eyebrows as me.

 

\---

 

"This song was inspired by the person who makes me happiest on a daily basis," Harry said, announcing 'Happily' and making sure to look my way in the crowd before shooting a small smirk at Louis. I groaned. Not very subtle, Haz.

The screams around me increased and I did the obligatory grin and wave.

"This is 'Happily'."

 

\---

 

"I don't think my boyfriend's going to have to be without me on tour very long," I muttered to Harry after the show.

He just smirked.

"You are not very subtle."

"Wasn't trying very hard." He shrugged.

"Did Li put you up to this?" I squinted up at him.

Harry grinned, shaking his head. "He'd ask soon enough."

I smacked his arm. "Don't get yourselves in trouble on my account."

His grin fell into a pout. "We want you around, too," he insisted.

I rolled my eyes. "So you thought you'd force me into coming instead of just begging?"

"I'm willing to get down on my knees, too, if necessary."

I flushed, slightly, at the image of Harry on his knees in front of me and he smirked, knowingly.

"I don't think your boyfriend would approve, baby," he murmured, smirking all the while.

"Shut up."

 

\---

 

"I missed you tonight," Liam murmured, pressing his face into my hair as he hugged me.

"I was there the whole time," I insisted with a small smile.

"Yeah, but I couldn't do this - " He threaded our fingers together. " - or this - " He pressed a quick kiss to my lips.

"Yeah," I sighed. "It was a great show, though."

He nodded before leaning in to presses kisses along my collarbone.

"We're in the middle of the kitch-en," I muttered, my voice catching on the last word as his teeth lightly nipped at my neck.

Liam just hummed in response, his hands wandering down to pull up the hem of my dress. His lips came up to meet mine as his tongue wound its way into my mouth. My arms wrapped around his neck as he leaned forward to grip my bare thighs, lifting me onto the counter, never breaking our kiss. I broke away for air and his mouth moved back to my neck, all tongue and teeth and lips in turn marking up my skin.

"Li," I sighed as one of his hands moved in between my thighs, the hem of my dress up around my waist.

His fingers slowly wandered up to where my panties were starting to dampen between my legs.

"We can't - "

"Baby," he whisper-moaned. "Fuck, you're wet."

His fingers starting rubbing against me and I groaned into his shoulder.

"Fuck," I mumbled, eyes falling closed.

He pressed another kiss to my shoulder as he continued his attentions and I jumped as I heard the front door open.

Liam froze.

"We brought food," his father's voice announced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter is what I was stupid excited about posting haha
> 
> Hope you all enjoyed it. I'll update tomorrow, so I won't leave you hanging too long :)
> 
> And if you didn't see, I posted a little one-shot for Rilourry in the Unconventional 'verse and the next big part of that 'verse will be coming soon-ish. There's still a ways to go on this fic, though, too, so don't think we're reaching the end.


	29. Intimacy Interrupted

"We brought food," his father's voice announced.

 I heard him say something to Karen and then the front door close. There was some shuffling as they came in the entryway and Liam's fingers disappeared. He quickly helped me off of the counter with an apology written across his flushed face, his eyes wide in embarrassment.

"Are you two - ? Oh, there you are," Karen said as she entered the kitchen, glancing curiously between us. That's when I noticed how wrinkled the bottom of my dress looked and blushed as I remembered Liam's efforts on my neck.

"Yeah, we're just going to, uh, change," I tried to cover as Geoff entered behind Karen and they both realized what they'd walked in on.

I grabbed Liam's hand and pulled him past his parents. "We'll be right back," he said.

I glanced back at him and realized his cock was hard and completely obvious in his skinny jeans. He was flustered, but as soon as we made it into his room, I couldn't hold back giggling.

"This is not funny," he insisted, concealing a smile as he watched me double over in laughter.

"I swear we have the worst luck ever."

"I shouldn't have - "

"I didn't realize you got so, uh, _worked up_ after a show." I giggled.

Liam huffed in frustration and embarrassment.

"Hurry up and change - and, uh, take care of that."

"I'm sure they'd give us a few minutes." Liam quickly changed tactics, hands grabbing my waist and pulling me towards him.

I giggled, pulling away. "The moment has passed."

Liam released me, pouting.

"Hey, at least they brought food?" I offered.

Liam continued to pout as he stalked over to the bathroom and closed the door. I heard the shower running and assumed he chose the cold water route.

I changed into a t-shirt and a pair of Liam's sweats before checking out his work on my neck in the mirror. Most of it hid under the collar of the t-shirt and I felt like covering it with makeup would be weird this late at night. We'd probably be eating and heading to bed pretty quick. I shrugged to myself and tucked my feet under me as I sat on the bed waiting for him.

"You could've went and ate without me," he pointed out as soon as he exited the bathroom.

"No way. I'm not going in there alone after - after they just - no way."

He chuckled, pulling on a pair of sweats and a tank. "I'm not sure I want to face them at all."

"I'm sure they've walked in on you before," I muttered.

"Not in years."

"Maybe if we act like nothing happened, they'll act the same."

Liam laughed. "Yeah, we can try."

 

\---

 

"Oh, you brought Chinese food?!" I exclaimed, happily. "Where's the cashew chicken?"

Karen pointed towards a box and I eagerly grabbed it, walking over to grab a fork out of the utensil drawer.

"You're eating Chinese with a fork?" Geoff asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Don't even try, Dad. She hates chopsticks and she'll give you an entire speech on the subject if you get her going."

"I'm guessing she doesn't go out for Chinese, then?"

"Oh, she - "

"I respect the necessity of using them in a fancy restaurant, I just don't see the need for them at home."

A small smile crossed Liam's face and then disappeared quickly. "Is this what took you so long to get here?" Liam asked.

"Oh, we stopped to talk to some people before leaving the stadium and then we ran into Ron and Barb at the Chinese place - "

Liam and I nodded, sharing a quick glance of victory at the prospect of a story to distract from our previous activities.

" - They both said to tell you 'hello', Liam. You remember them, don't you?"

Liam nodded. "Allison's parents, right?"

"Yes, they said she's doing well. She's graduating from uni next May. Teaching degree," his mother continued.

"Oh, what's she planning to teach?" Liam asked.

"Drama."

"Oh, she'll be great at that."

"Who's Allison?" I asked, half curious and half hoping the conversation would stay firmly away from us.

"She's a friend from school." Liam shrugged.

"They lived just down the road from us when Liam was younger - wasn't she your first kiss, Liam?" His mom quirked an eyebrow at him, teasing.

"I, uh, don't remember."

I chuckled.

"Oh, yes, you do. I don't think Riley's going to get jealous over your little kiss - what were you: five? Six?"

"Six," he muttered, shoving a large piece of chicken into his mouth.

"They were quite the pair, once upon a time," Karen informed me.

"I bet he was a cutie," I chuckled, pinching his cheek.

He glared at me, but returned to eating.

"You and Harry did pretty good tonight," Geoff commented after a few moments.

I nodded. "Other than his blatant dedication of 'Happily' to Louis, yeah."

Liam looked up. "What?"

"He looked towards me in the crowd and then smirked at Louis. Not very subtle, that one."

Liam shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"He says he's doing it because he wants me on tour with you guys. He misses me."

Liam perked up. "Are you thinking about it?"

"I told Harry I'd rather choose to come than be forced."

Liam frowned. "So you're not thinking about it?"

Geoff and Karen laughed.

"He's a bit clingy, isn't he?" Geoff muttered.

Liam shot him a glare, but I cut him off from saying anything.

"It's cute."

"There was the whole Ed thing last time he left," Karen commented, glancing curiously between us.

"How long have you been waiting to ask about that?" Liam asked, shooting her a look.

She shrugged with a small smile. "Seemed like the opportune moment."

I rolled my eyes. "It's not my fault Harry's throwing me in the way of eligible men."

Liam pouted. "He is not."

I patted his knee with a small smile. "Technically, he's the reason I met you," I reminded him. "Ed's just a friend, of course. We were having a good time."

"He knew you and Liam - ?" Karen asked.

I shook my head. "Not that it's Liam, but he knew I was actually with one of the guys."

"Can we change the subject?" Liam proposed.

I chuckled. "He's a bit jealous - "

"I am not!" He insisted.

Karen and Geoff chuckled.

"He's never been one to share," Geoff said.

"That's not true," Karen interjected. "He always shared his toys when he was younger. He just doesn't like sharing his women. Different story there."

Geoff laughed. "Okay, that's true."

"I had to watch her kiss the guy - how was I supposed to react?" Liam asked.

I shot him a look. "I explained - "

"What?" Karen exclaimed, confused.

I glanced between his parents. "It was just a midnight kiss on New Year's. Its Louis and Harry's fault."

"They do get you into things, don't they?"

"I didn't even know Liam was into me back then or I would've been all for a kiss with him!"

Liam leaned in and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Good to know, love."

"Still needing reassurance that she's into you?" Geoff asked, smirking. "The sex on the counter - "

Karen smacked his shoulder, blushing. "Geoff!"

I looked down at my rice, face turning beet red.

There was silence for a few moments.

"Put a tie on the door next time," Geoff said.

Liam and I giggled, forcing our way past the uncomfortable moment.

"It's my house, Dad," Liam reminded him.

"Oh, yes, but still, it's a common courtesy."

"Would a tie have really stopped you?" Liam quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Like we had time to think of a tie," I muttered.

They all turned to look at me. I blushed.

"What? It wasn't - we didn't - "

Liam chuckled. "She's right. Besides, you weren't that far behind us."

"Far enough for you to forget we were on our way."

"Blame your son," I muttered.

"Heyy," Liam protested.

I lifted an eyebrow at him until he conceded.

"Yeah, okay."

His parents chuckled.

 

\---

 

"I think I would've preferred Louis and Harry walking in on us," I muttered as we climbed into bed.

Liam chuckled. "They would've teased us mercilessly."

"No, they would've teased you and I'd get asked for all the juicy details and be done with it."

"You'd give them the juicy details?" Liam asked.

I lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, looking over at him. "Would you - would that bother you?"

Liam looked thoughtful for a moment. "I never expected to be in a circumstance that my girl would be telling one of my boys so much…"

"Seriously, Li, if it makes you uncomfortable, I won't - it's not a big deal, I swear."

"Just give me a bit of time to get used to the idea?" he proposed.

"It's not like he's going to go blabbing about it," I reminded him.

Liam nodded, gesturing for me to turn around so he could be the big spoon.

"And I'd slap him if he did. In public. Make a spectacle of it."

Liam chuckled. "I don't understand you two."

"Few people do."

"Louis?"

"He's been there through the whole thing. He gets it like no one else."

"I'll be sure to have him give me the feedback loop."

"From what I tell H?" I asked, cuddling back against him.

"Yeah. High points; low points."

"You think I wouldn't tell you?"

"I would hope so, but you may be a bit more freer in your opinions with someone else."

I looked over my shoulder at him. "Only so I could get the dirt on him and Louis."

Liam rolled his eyes. "What is it about them?"

"They're hot."

Liam leaned his forehead against my shoulder.

"Not like you're hot. Like, I don't know - they're just - two hot guys - together."

Liam mumbled something.

"Huh?"

"Please stop talking about how hot Harry and Louis are."

"I get to carry their babies."

Liam burst out into laughter. "I'm so glad I'm in the know on that whole thing or I'd be really freaked out right now."

I settled into the pillow with a smile. "They're gonna be really freaking cute babies! And I get to be Auntie Riley and spoil the heck out of them without the repercussions of raising them."

"You'll be a good aunt."

I nodded.

"And a good mother, too, I bet."

I hummed in response, thoughtful.

"Think they'll get somebody else's egg or ask for yours?"

I froze. "I dunno, I hadn't thought about that. I mean - normally surrogacy is - well, I dunno. We've still got to talk about a lot to do with that whole thing before it comes time."

Liam remained silent.

"Would that bother you? If they were biologically mine, too?"

Liam took a moment to respond. "I think, assuming we stick it out, it'd make a very interesting family dynamic."

"A very good answer."

Liam chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Well, you addressed the whole 'we hope we're still together but it's too soon to tell' without pulling the 'I want you to have my babies' card and still managed to answer the question."

I could practically hear Liam roll his eyes. "Can't freak you out. Don't want to scare you off. Tonight was traumatic enough."

I laughed. "The closest we've - and they - yeah, that's gonna be quite the story - oh god, you think Karen'll mention it to Anne?"

Liam chuckled. "If she gets the chance to, yes."

"Oh, god."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up: Lunch out with the mums and Jordan comes to the boys' show (oh, and Carrington, if you're still reading :( I didn't forget about you! You're introduced in the next chapter!)
> 
> I loved the responses to the last chapter. I had the most ridiculous grin on my face writing the two of them getting walked in on, so I'm so glad you guys liked it, too! I swear they'll have sex eventually haha
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos and everything :)


	30. Mothers and Friends

"Are you doing something with your dad today?" I asked over the sound of the shower as I pulled a brush through my hair.

"Yeah, I'm taking him out to lunch - and he wants to see that comic store I took you to?"

"Oh, yeah? He's into comics?"

"Yeah, he's the one that got me into them."

"Oh, that makes sense."

"What're you and the mums doing?" Liam asked.

"Lunch and a bit of shopping."

"Shopping?" He sounded skeptical.

"Yes, shopping. The typical all-girls activity." I rolled my eyes. "Plus, it’s a good way to get pictures."

"Ah. Yes, of course. Pictures." The mirror steamed up as he stepped out of the shower.

"It is the whole reason we're doing this," I reminded him. "Not that I don't love spending time with Anne or your mom."

He chuckled, wrapping a towel around his waist. "You've never spent time with my mother."

"Well, still, it's not like I'd say 'no' to her if she asked. Besides, I'm the one that invited her along."

"Which I appreciate," he assured me, stepping up next to me to press a kiss to my cheek.

 

\---

 

"I invited Jay along," Anne explained as I joined the two of them outside the restaurant. Karen had agreed that it would be suspicious if we had arrived together, so we had taken different trains at the tube station, guaranteeing that I'd arrive before her.

I nodded with a smile. "The more, the merrier. I didn't realize you'd be here this early."

"Anne mentioned this little publicity bit and that Karen was coming as well - we kind of figured another mum might detract from the notion that its your fake boyfriend's mother and your real boyfriend's mother," Jay replied. "So we came down a bit earlier."

"How're the wedding plans going?" I asked.

"Oh, I think it'll all work out."

Anne laughed. "She's totally fine about it one minute and a bit stressed the next, you never know what you'll get."

"I can't imagine planning a wedding with two little ones." My phone beeped and I looked down to see a text from Karen. "Karen's almost here. She got stopped by a fan."

Anne and Jay laughed. "How did she get stopped and you didn't?"

I shrugged. "I'm just as surprised as you."

We talked a few more minutes until Karen appeared.

"Sorry, it took a bit of time to get away from them."

"Them?"

"The one fan that asked if I was Liam's mum had friends. They're hard to shake off when you're trying to get somewhere in a hurry."

I laughed.

The mums hugged and said it'd been too long and then we headed inside. I was surprised to see that the paparazzi hadn't shown up yet, but with a glance over my shoulder, I saw a camera pointed our way.

 

\---

 

"Are you all staying at Harry's?" I asked as we sat down.

Jay shook her head. "Anne and Robin are staying there. We didn't want to crowd you all."

Karen laughed, shooting me a look. I blushed, looking away.

"What is the story there?" Anne asked, catching the exchange.

"They're being a bit crowded by our company," Karen chuckled.

Anne and Jay each lifted an eyebrow at me.

I shook my head. "It's not - "

"We came back last night to - "

"Karen, please," I begged.

She just grinned and continued. "To walk in on Liam and Riley in the kitchen - we didn't see anything," she assured me. "The wrinkled dress and straining skinny jeans kind of gave it away, though."

Anne and Jay howled with laughter as I continued to blush.

"We weren't - I just - " I pouted.

Anne patted my shoulder. "It's okay, darling, happens to the best of us."

"I can only imagine what you see living with Harry and Louis," Jay added.

I shook my head. "More than I should, that's for sure."

 

\---

 

"Riley?"

I turned at the sound of my name, recognizing the voice. "Oh, hey, Michelle!" I smiled. "Long time no see."

"Yeah, we should do lunch or something soon!" she replied with a grin.

I glanced behind her to see the photographers had spotted us despite our back exit. "Um, sorry, we're kind of - " I gestured towards the small crowd.

She looked over her shoulder. "Ah, yes, woes of dating The Harry Styles," she laughed. "I'll call you."

"Yeah, do that," I replied, turning to follow Anne down the sidewalk.

"Michelle?" Anne asked.

"Oh, yeah, she's a friend - "

"Is that the one Louis's suspicious of?" Jay asked, appearing on my other side.

I nodded. "She works for Modest!."

"A good reason to be suspicious," Anne agreed.

"I haven't told her anything, obviously," I assured them. "She introduced me to Jordan, though, she's coming to the show tonight. She works at Modest!, too, but she's just a PA."

"How do you only have friends that work for the company that you're contracted with?"

I laughed, shrugging. "Bad luck?"

"Harry's got some friends coming tonight. You'll have to make sure he introduces you. Maybe you'll click with one of them and you can have a friend outside of Modest!," Anne told me.

I shrugged. "Yeah, Lou and Harry have been wanting to introduce me to people. Of course, they're the ones that introduced me to Ed and we all saw how well that went."

Anne chuckled as Jay stepped back to speak to Karen. "It did turn into a bit of a mess."

"I didn't think people would be freaking out about Ed dancing with somebody. It was a club. You're supposed to dance!" I insisted.

"People see what they want to see." Anne shrugged.

 

\---

 

"Am I supposed to go in the back or what?" Jordan asked over the phone.

I laughed. "Where are you?"

"Awkwardly walking by this huge line of people who are glaring at me."

"Do you want me to come get you?"

"Will you get mobbed?"

"I don't think so?" I replied with a laugh.

Jordan chuckled. "Meet me outside the door?"

"I'll come find you."

"Thank you."

 

\---

 

The screams started as soon as I opened the door and then faded as they realized it wasn't one of the boys. I caught sight of Jordan and quickly walked over to meet her. A few fans started screaming again when they realized who I was and I waved. Jordan laughed.

"It's like you're famous or something."

I smacked her arm. "Shut up."

"Am I famous by association?"

"I'm famous by association. I guess that'd make you famous by famous by association."

She made a face. "Like a C-lister?"

I laughed. "Your picture will be all over Twitter, isn't that enough?"

"I look good, though, right?"

"Of course," I assured her, stepping back to check her out. "You look hot."

She turned and looked at the crowd of fans again just before we reached the door. "How do you deal with this?"

"He makes it worth it," I replied with a small smile.

"Oh, I bet he does."

 

\---

 

"Babe, this is Jordan; Jordan, Harry," I took her straight to Harry as soon as we were inside.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, shaking her hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Same here," Jordan replied with a small nod.

"Riles." Niall appeared around a corner, eyes landing on Jordan. "Who's your friend?"

I held back the giggles as I replied. "This is Jordan."

"Oh, the sleepover girl."

Jordan squinted at me in disgust. "Please say that's not all they've heard."

"We were drunk. And, well, I didn't really think through the 'slept over at a friend's' text when I sent it."

She rolled her eyes. "As if you were the type to cheat."

"C'mon, I'll introduce you around," Niall offered his hand to Jordan.

"She's my friend," I insisted, shooting him a look.

Niall's mouth dropped open in protest. "I'm just being friendly."

I leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Don't be too friendly."

He frowned, but nodded.

"Want me to come?" I asked Jordan.

She shrugged, intrigued by the attention Niall was giving her.

"I'll come find you in a few."

"Zayn and Li are this way," Niall instructed, walking down the hall with her.

"Smooth," Harry muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"Getting out of introducing her to your real boyfriend," he replied in a low voice.

I grinned. "Didn't think about that."

"Makes it easier to fake if you aren't even in the same room as him."

"True."

"Plus she doesn't have to find out our dressing room arrangements this way, either," Harry added with a small smile.

"Where's Lou?"

Harry's gestured back towards their dressing room and I followed him.

"Jordan's here," I told Louis.

Lou was in the midst of fixing his hair, another stylist flipping through the rack of clothes against the wall.

Louis turned towards us and then shot me a confused look. "You left her where exactly?"

"Niall stole her away," Harry supplied. "You know how he is with pretty girls."

"Did anyone - "

"I told him not to get too friendly," I assured him.

Lou huffed a laugh. "That boy," she muttered, shaking her head.

"Niall introducing her around may work out better for the whole 'Liam's ridiculously in love with Riley' thing."

I grinned. "I'm not that bad of an actress," I insisted.

"But he's less experienced in the faking feelings thing," Louis reminded me. "We all know how well you and Harry 'act'."

 

\---

 

"Riley, this is Carrington," Harry introduced me to a pretty girl with short pink hair. "Carrington, Riley."

"You can call me 'Carrie'," the girl immediately replied with a smile.

"Nice to meet you," I replied.

"Harry's told me all about you," she added with a grin.

"Hopefully not everything," I grimaced with a laugh.

"I don't think this boy could have an ill thought towards you," she assured me.

"I don't know about that."

"We should all do lunch this week before the boys head out again," she suggested. "Or go to a club! We can totally take Harry and Louis to a club when they've both got - girlfriends," she ended the sentence in a slightly tamer voice, dropping the volume that had been excitedly rising.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I'm up for it."

"She's got a boyfriend, too," Harry muttered, quietly.

Carrington's eyebrows rose. "Really? How does that work?"

"He's kind of - in the band, too. Liam." I suddenly understood why Harry had wanted me to hit it off with someone in town that didn't work for Modest! - it was a strangely gratifying to be able to speak of my actual relationship to someone.

"Oh, juicy," she chuckled. "I'd love to hear how that happened."

"Five minutes!" A crew member hollered down the hallway, halting our conversation.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to wait 'til I got off later to post this, but then I decided to go ahead and post it.
> 
> This morning I wrote almost 800 words of smut to open the next part of the Rilourry 'verse. Which still needs a title. That's in the works. But yeah, definitely have decided to open that up with a smut scene. I need about 600 or so more words and I'll be able to post the first chapter...as soon as I figure out what I'm going to call it. Also started on the timeline for it this morning (even though my timelines end up being changed about a million times before the end of the fic). So its seriously in the works. If you aren't reading that story and just this one, sorry I just wasted your time telling you that, but there you go.
> 
> Anyways! Carrington, you've been intro'd into the story. Hope you're happy with it.
> 
> I'm off to work. Check my tumblr (l-a-r-r-yspellslove.tumblr.com) because I may be posting some little snippets from what's coming for Rilourry. I'll tag it 'rilourry' I guess, so you can find it...since I have no title yet. haha
> 
> Thanks for reading! Seriously, I appreciate it!


	31. Playful Pair

"Glad to know there really is a girl named Jordan in my life?" I teased Liam.

He leaned forward to press a kiss to my cheek. "You know I believed you," he muttered with a small shake of his head.

"I'm going clubbing with Harry's friends this week," I informed him.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I met his friend, Carrington - Carrie? - tonight. She seems nice."

"Oh, yeah, I've met her. She's cool. Her girlfriend - "

"Her girlfriend?" I stopped him, surprised.

Liam smirked. "Your gay-dar didn't go off?"

I chuckled. "I told you it doesn't work on girls."

"Well, her girlfriend is a real sweetheart."

"Maybe she's taking us to a gay club or something - that'd be fun."

His arms slipped around my waist, pulling me into a half-hug. "Don't get drunk and lose your phone," he advised with a slight grin.

"Hey, I didn't lose my phone, it just died. And I didn't have a charger or the mind to put it on a charger anyways - besides, I'll definitely be making it back to my own bed if I am drunk, anyways, since Lou and H'll be with me."

He smirked. "Good to know."

"The worst that would happen is I'd end up in bed with Louis and Harry," I added, watching for his reaction.

He frowned. "I'm not sure you'd want to be in bed with them when they're drunk."

I laughed. "That's probably true."

"I'd rather you didn't get drunk without me," he pouted.

"Your parents are leaving tomorrow," I reminded him with a small grin.

He nodded. "How could I forget?"

"You notice they took off for their bedroom as soon as they got back?" I chuckled.

"Smart people," he muttered, pressing a kiss to my lips.

"Aren't you tired?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Why? Are you?" he asked, a small frown puckering his lips.

A yawn escaped my lips before I could form an answer.

He chuckled. "C'mon, baby, you need your sleep."

I frowned. "Sorry."

"My parents are here still, anyways, it's not like - well, yeah. It wasn't going to happen tonight anyways."

He walked me back to his room with an arm around my shoulders.

"Still - "

"Just make sure you're wide awake tomorrow night." He smirked down at me.

A blush crept up my cheeks as I smiled.

 

\---

 

"What're you doing?" Liam mumbled, sleepily reaching for me as I climbed out of bed.

"Shh, go back to sleep," I hushed him, tiptoeing over to the bathroom before slipping down the hall to the empty kitchen. I started pulling out the ingredients for pancakes as quietly as I could, hoping not to wake everyone up.

I jumped as I felt arms slip around my waist.

"What're you doing?" Liam whispered.

I glanced over my shoulder as he pulled me back against his chest. "Making breakfast. You could've stayed in bed a bit longer - "

"It was lonely in there without you," he pouted.

I rolled my eyes and returned to my task, reaching for the flour on the top shelf.

"Let me help?" he requested, snatching the flour down. He only had a few inches on me, but it was still easier for him to reach.

"Grab a couple eggs and the milk out of the fridge?" I requested.

"What're you making?"

"Pancakes."

"How American of you." He grabbed the mixing bowl I liked out of the cabinet and handed it to me.

"I am American."

 

\---

 

"You two are up early," Karen greeted us upon entering the kitchen.

Liam's hands were wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder as I stood over the stove, flipping pancakes.

"Thought I'd make breakfast," I replied. Liam made no motion to move away from me and I held in a giggle as I realized this was tame in comparison to what they'd already walked in on.

"It smells good in here," Geoff commented, walking over to slouch into a kitchen chair with his iPad in hand. "Can't be my son cooking."

I chuckled, nodding.

"Hey," Liam protested.

 

\---

 

"Is that your phone, love?" Liam asked.

I paused and listened. "Yeah, watch this for me?" I requested, darting out of the kitchen and down the hall. I frowned as I realized it was Martha calling. "Hello?"

"Riley? This is Martha, Katherine's assistant?"

"Yeah?" I replied shortly, rolling my eyes at her need to explain who she was.

"Katherine asked me to call - I hope I didn't wake you - she's wanting a bit more coverage of you and Harry before their final show in London tonight," she continued.

"Okay."

"Babe, is it Louis or - " I frantically waved for Liam to shut up as he entered the room. He mouthed 'sorry' and walked back down the hall.

"Who was that?" Martha asked.

"A friend. What is it we're doing today?"

"I thought you were living with Harry."

"I am."

There was a long pause before she replied. "You know you aren't - "

"If you're about to remind me of the terms of my contract, you don't need to, promise. What am I supposed to be doing with Harry today?" I asked again, getting impatient.

Another pause and then I heard her take a breath. "Katherine wants you to make a show of going out to lunch."

"Okay. Anywhere specific? Or does H have the details?"

"I'm about to text both of you the time and location," she replied shortly and hung up.

 

\---

 

"What was that about?" Liam asked as I re-entered the kitchen.

"Lunch date with Harry today," I replied with an eye roll.

"They haven't be behaving on stage much," Liam reminded me.

"Yeah, they're trying to make me go on tour with you guys."

Liam looked over at me, hopefully.

I shook my head. "I'd prefer being asked rather than forced."

Karen chuckled.

I turned, prepared to garner sympathy from the only other woman in the room. "Right? Wouldn't you want to be asked?"

She nodded, shooting her son a look.

"I never said I wouldn't just ask," he insisted. "I was just hopeful."

My phone rang again before we could delve into the topic any further.

"Harry?" I answered.

"Yeah, love. I hear we're having lunch today?" Harry's voice replied.

"Yeah, I need to come home for a bit, anyways," I informed him. "I just finished making breakfast, so I'll be home in a while."

"How's Liam?" Harry asked.

I glanced at the boy in question, slightly confused. "He's fine…"

"I have an idea - to maybe get them off our backs and start some rumours at the same time," Harry elaborated.

"What? Another make-out scene in public?" I asked, skeptical.

Liam coughed, choking on the bite he'd just taken.

"Better," Harry insisted.

"Better?"

Liam was listening in now, curious. I shrugged in his direction.

"Jewelry shopping," Harry said.

A laugh burst out of me. "You want to go look at rings?"

Liam's eyebrows shot up and a moment later, he started laughing. His parents didn't seem to know what to think, so they were pretending they hadn't heard.

"What did Louis say to this?" I asked.

"He thought it might work."

"He's cool with it?"

"Well, he's already got a ring on my finger," Harry reminded me. "Is Liam listening? What's he saying?"

I glanced back over at Liam. "He's laughing at the moment."

"Well, get the okay from him and we'll make sure the paps follow us to a jeweler this afternoon."

"Will do. I'll see you soon."

"You might remind him that Louis's got a ring on my finger."

I grinned. "I'll tell him."

I hung up the phone and walked over to wrap my arms around Liam's waist and looked up at him.

"You heard that?" I asked, figuring it was the best way to start this conversation.

He shook his head. "I heard what sounded like Harry offering to take you ring shopping."

"He wants to lead the paps there - thinks it'd make for some good rumours to keep Katherine off our backs for the rest of break. You know, so I can spend the rest of break with you and not going on dates with him," I added.

"Can't argue with that," he agreed, pressing a kiss to my forehead.

"It's okay?"

He  nodded.

"I don't even have to bring up the whole 'Louis's already got a ring on it'?"

Liam laughed and I turned to see that his parents were chuckling, too.

"Because he told me to remind you of that."

"He said it like that?"

I smiled. "No, but that's basically what he meant, so I went for it."

He rolled his eyes. "It's fine."

I stood on my tiptoes to peck a quick kiss to his lips. "Thanks, babe."

 

\---

 

"I'm home," I called as soon as I'd stepped through the front door. "You better not be - "

The words stopped in my throat as I noticed Anne and Gemma sitting on the couch.

"Oh, hi," I tried to cover. "I was just - "

"Trying not to walk in on anything, yeah," Gemma smirked.

"I - uh - " I shrugged. "What're you two up to?"

Anne chuckled. "Just finished breakfast. Harry said he had to leave for an obligatory date with you."

I nodded. "Yeah, I needed to come home for some more clothes, so I figured I'd just meet him here."

"So you and Liam…" Gemma left the question open.

I smiled, slightly embarassed. "Yeah."

"I didn't expect that to work out," Gemma commented.

I shot her a look. "What d'you mean?"

"I didn't think you'd get your eyes off of my brother long enough to see if any of the boys were interested."

"Gemma," her mother chastised.

I blushed, but rolled my eyes. "It took a bit of time."

"They're head over heels for each other now," Louis commented, entering the room. "It's disgusting."

"Bit like you and Haz, then," I replied.

"You think we're adorable," he insisted.

I rolled my eyes. "Where is your other half?"

"Changing for your date."

"Yeah, I've gotta go change, too."

"I didn't want to say anything," Louis replied, eyeing me up and down.

I stepped close enough to slap his arm. "Shut up."

 

\---

 

"Ready, love?" Harry asked, pushing my door open.

I slipped my feet into a pair of Chucks and nodded. "You look nice."

"Well, I try. Looking pretty gorgeous yourself," he replied.

I grinned.

"Lou, we're leaving," Harry called down the hallway.

Louis appeared at his side, pressing a quick kiss to his lips. "Put on a good show. I don't want to deal with this the rest of the week."

I laughed. "Yes, sir."

 

\---

 

"Why are you being weird?" Harry asked.

"I'm not," I insisted, shifting closer to him.

"I've totally been telling you to kiss me with my eyes for like five minutes and you've completely ignored it. I thought we were on the same wavelength, but I'm starting to wonder."

"Sorry, I'm distracted." I leaned forward to slowly press a kiss to his lips, teasingly swiping my tongue across his bottom lip as I pulled away.

"Distracted about what?" he murmured, his hand coming up to cup my neck, pulling me in for another kiss. His teeth lightly nipped at my bottom lip and I pushed him away.

"Don't mess up my makeup," I pouted.

Harry rolled his eyes so that only I could see before kissing his way across my jaw and down my neck. "What's - so - distracting?"

"Li - am," I replied, my voice catching as he found the spot just below my left ear and licked at it.

He pulled back, laying his head on my shoulder. "What about him?"

I bit my lip, nervously. "His parents leave today."

Harry looked up at me, an awkward angle from his position, but he still managed to convey his puppy dog eyes. "You're thinking about another man while I'm - "

I giggled. "Shut up. Like you weren't."

"Well, that spot below your left ear, that's a Louis thing - wasn't sure it'd work on you."

"Thanks for the thought."

He chuckled. "Liam's taught you a thing or two."

"What? What d'you mean?"

"You kiss different since you started seeing him."

"What? No - no, I don't."

"You're more playful," he insisted. "Not surprising, I mean, Liam's a playful person."

I blushed.

"Nothing wrong with it. It's kind of cute."

"I'm sure he'd be pleased to know he's changed how I kiss."

"Not sure he'd want me telling him so," Harry shrugged.

I laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My computer's been spazzing out for the past hour and randomly shutting down. So I'm going ahead and posting this just in case something is seriously wrong with my computer.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	32. At Last

"What cut do you like?" Harry asked.

I hummed, thoughtfully. "That one's pretty," I commented, pointing at a simple band with a princess cut diamond.

Harry chuckled. "Simple, but pretty." His hand was around my waist and he leaned in to press a kiss to my cheek.

"I like simple."

"Of course, dating a multi-millionaire and you point out the simplest and cheapest ring in the entire case."

I pouted up at him. "You know I'm not with you because you're rich."

His lips pressed against mine for a moment. "And I love you for it."

"And I'd be happy with anything you got me."

"But I want to know what you like," he insisted.

The salesman was only a few feet away, so we were being careful to keep the act up for him and for the cameras flashing by the window.

"Princess cut," I told him. "For future reference. Not too too big. The ones with the diamonds around the band are pretty."

He nodded.

"Although, I do like the round cut, too. Or the oval."

"You're not being very specific," he teased.

"I told you - whatever you pick out would be  fine ."

"C'mon," he said, pulling me over to a display of necklaces. "Let me buy you something."

"Harry - " I protested.

"Please," he pleaded. "Look, there's a little starfish one."

I glanced at the necklace he'd pointed out. "You don't have to - "

"I  want to ."

"You just paid for lunch."

He just pouted his lips and waited.

"How much is it?" I muttered.

He smiled, turning to the salesman. "Can I get that starfish necklace wrapped up?"

"Harry - "

"It's not that much," he insisted, pulling out his wallet. "Wear it tonight?"

"Okay."

He grinned, pressing a quick kiss to my lips before handing his credit card to the salesman.

\---

"You didn't need to buy me anything," I insisted as soon as we got home.

He just smiled. "Show it to Louis."

I shot him a weird look, confused. "Louis?" I called.

"In here, love," his voice replied from the direction of the living room. "What'd he buy you?"

"A necklace that he won't tell me how much he spent on."

"It wasn't that much," Harry insisted again.

"I'm wearing it tonight, of course. And its super cute, but he didn't need to spend the money on me."

Louis just held his hand out, waiting for me to hand it over. I passed him the bag and watched as he opened it up, exchanged a look with Harry and smiled.

"What? What is it?" I asked.

"It's perfect," Louis replied. "Definitely wear it."

"You wanna tell her?"

"Tell me what?!" I was getting frustrated with the looks they kept exchanging.

"Harry's started referring to our someday-baby as our little starfish," Louis replied.

I smacked his arm. "You got this with some deep meaning in mind and let me argue with you about it all the way here?"

"It's not that deep - "

"It's cute, though, isn't it?" Louis said.

"It's adorable," I admitted. "But isn't it weird - "

"No. You'll carry our little starfish someday - "

"Why 'little starfish'?"

Harry just smiled.

"He's pretty stuck on the whole nautical theme," Louis supplied.

"Starfish are cute - beautiful, but tough. They're resilient."

"So you want me to wear this as what? A reminder that you'll have a baby someday?"

Harry grinned. "Something like that. Think of it as a friendship necklace."

"A very expensive friendship necklace."

"Well, you're going to spend nine months carrying our baby, I think you deserve it."

I shook my head, exasperated. "Like you don't already pay for enough."

"We like to spoil you."

"Yeah, I hadn't noticed."

\---

Liam's arms slid around me from behind and I jumped as he whispered directly into my ear. "You know I'm supposed to be the one buying you expensive jewelry."

I smirked. "That'd depend on who you asked."

"Riley," he whined.

"I didn't ask for it," I insisted, turning to face him.

"How much was it?"

"He wouldn't tell me," I shrugged.

Liam's eyebrows rose. 

"We were only supposed to go look at rings! He bombarded me with wanting to buy me something."

"It's pretty," he admitted, glancing down at the silver starfish against my chest.

I nodded, my fingers coming up to feel it.

"Not as pretty as the girl wearing it," he added.

I rolled my eyes.

"What? It's true."

"You know you're getting some tonight whether you compliment me or not, right?" I teased him.

He licked his lips. "I like complimenting you."

I pressed a kiss to his lips.

"You're the prettiest girl I know," he insisted, kissing me again. "I'll always compliment you - whether I'm getting some or not."

I chuckled. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Hey, Li - oh, sorry," Zayn apologized, sticking his head in the door.

"It's fine, Z, c'mon in," Liam assured him.

Zayn glanced between us, nervously.

"I swear you're not interrupting anything," I told him with a roll of my eyes. "He's just whining about Harry buying me jewelry."

Zayn chuckled. "Heard that."

\---

"Ew, no, don't skimp on the shower, you're gross," I insisted, pushing him away from me towards the shower.

"Join me?" Liam pouted.

I shook my head. "I don't think that'll move things along whatsoever."

"But, _baby_ \- "

"We have all night, love," I reminded him. "Just clean yourself up and let's  go ."

He sighed and stalked over to the shower.

\---

"Liam,  _ Liam _ ," I chastised, pushing his hand away from where it had been finding its way underneath the hem of my skirt. "I don't think Paddy wants a show."

I heard a light chuckle from the front seat.

"He doesn't care," Liam insisted, pressing his face into my chest as he pouted.

"We'll be back to yours in a minute."

He laid his head on my shoulder, fingers playing with the hem of my skirt as they brushed against my bare thigh. "I love you," he whispered.

I turned to kiss the top of his head. "Love you, too."

\---

The bedroom door closed behind us and he pressed me back against it, leaning in to press his lips to mine in a gentle caress. 

I opened my mouth to ask where the urgency had gone, but before I could speak, he'd kissed me again, sliding our tongues together. My arms moved up to wrap around his neck, not wanting him to move away. His hand  blindly reached for the zipper on the back of my dress. Our mouths parted for air and I looked up to see that his eyes were darkening with lust. I pushed my body towards his, giving his hand more space at my back to unzip my dress. 

He hissed as I pressed against his erection and I smirked up at him.

"Surprised you weren't hard all night," I muttered.

"It wasn't easy," he murmured.

I squirmed my way out of the dress and blushed as he stepped back to just stare at me for a moment. My arms crossed, uneasily, until he gently pulled them apart.

"Just admiring the view, my love," he assured me. "Wondering how long it might take to memorize every inch of you - " He pressed a kiss to my lips, swiping his tongue across my mouth as he pulled away. "- with my tongue."

" _ Li _ ." I pressed his lips to mine in another searing kiss, tugging impatiently at his t-shirt. 

"Uh-uh-uh," he chastised.

"But - " I pouted up at him.

A small smile crossed his lips and he quickly lifted the shirt off over his head. I didn't even get a chance to admire the view before he was kissing me again, unhooking my bra and tossing it aside. 

"You're so - beautiful," he murmured, carefully leading us over to the bed without letting more than few inches of space part us. "So good to me."

"Babe, please," I muttered as he pushed me back onto the bed.

He carefully peeled my panties off, kissing his way down my leg as he did so, murmuring words of love and affection all the while.

"Kiss me," I pleaded.

His mouth was at mine in a second, tongue thrusting its way into my mouth. One of his hands settled at my left boob, gently caressing and kneading at it, careful to avoid the nipples that were quickly begging for his attention.

"Li," I groaned into his mouth as he finally pinched my hardening nipple, sending a shock of pleasure through me. "Fuck."

"You look so - good - like this, baby," he muttered, kissing his way across my jaw. He quickly found the spot just below my left ear and I thrust up against him with a whine. He hadn't even barely touched me and I was a mess beneath him.

"Please, baby," I begged, not even sure what I wanted as my mind was only screaming ' more more more '.

He kissed his way down my neck and across my bare shoulder. "What's wrong, Riley?" he teased. His hand switched to my other breast and I gasped as his thumb flicked across the nipple, fingernail just barely catching against it.

"Liiii," I whined.

He moved back up to press a kiss to my lips with a small smile before slowly kissing his way down my chest, his tongue darting across each nipple before looking back up at me. His hand wandered down to massage at the inside of my thigh.

My hand came up to push his shoulder, wanting to take control, unable to take this slow torture. He caught my hand, pressing a kiss to my wrist. "Can I just - can I take you apart tonight, baby? Let me take control?" he whispered. "Please."

I sighed, nodding as my eyes fell shut for a moment.

"I'll make it worth your while," he promised, his fingers getting closer and closer to where I wanted them.

"Just touch me," I pleaded, threading my fingers through his hair. 

"Patience, my love," he whispered.

I spread my legs, pleading him to press his fingers into me. 

"Are you wet?" he asked.

I groaned, nodding. "Didn't expect - you to - dirty talk - "

He lightly bit the space between my breasts, licking at the mark he made.

"Such a tease," I murmured.

He suddenly thrust a finger into me and I gasped. "What was that?" he asked, smirking up at me.

"Fuck," I cursed. 

"You are wet," he commented as he slowly starting thrusting his finger in and out, watching my face for every flicker of movement.

"More," I begged.

Another finger joined the first and he started crooking his fingers, searching.

"Fuck, you're gonna feel so good. Wrapped around my dick."

I moaned at his words, so ready to feel him inside of me.

"I don't know how I'm gonna last," he continued. "You're so tight. And wet."

" Li. "

Another finger joined the first two and I started thrusting up to meet his fingers, desperate for the friction. 

"Fuck, you look so good."

"Li," I pleaded.

He crooked his fingers again and I screamed as he brushed across my g-spot, coming all over his fingers. 

"Oh my god," I whimpered, riding the high until his fingers disappeared and I looked down to see that - "Holy fuck." His tongue slid into me, licking up every drop of my cum. I squirmed under his attentions, quickly getting worked up again and whining his name over and over as his hot tongue thrust in and out of me.

He pulled away, kissing his way back up to my mouth.

"Tastes so good," he murmured before pressing his lips to mine where I could taste myself on his tongue. I groaned.

"Clothes - off," I begged, pushing at the waist of his sweats. "In - me."

He chuckled lightly. "Did I break you?"

I pouted up at him, continuing to tug at the clothes that were keeping him from me.

His clothes disappeared a moment later and he quickly slipped a condom on.

"Nowwww," I pleaded. My brain had turned to mush, having come so close to a second orgasm while he was eating me out.

"Patience, baby," he assured me, lining himself up at my entrance.

"Liam," I moaned his name, pulling at his shoulders, trying to get him to move quicker. 

He slowly pushed into me and we both groaned, loudly, at the sensation. It seemed like forever, but he finally bottomed out.

"Fuck fuck fuck," he muttered, pressing his face against my chest as he tried to catch his breath.

I took a deep breath, relaxing into the feel of him.

"You can move," I assured him, threading my fingers into his hair.

"Riley," he murmured, my name sounding like a caress across his lips. 

" Move ," I urged him. 

He pulled out and pushed back in. 

I groaned. " Faster ."

"This is more - what I - expected," he stuttered out, thrusting in and out of me at a steadily increasing pace.

"Fuck, you feel - ohmygod."

Both of our words failed us as he adjusted to thrust faster, pounding into me at a frantic pace. 

I lifted my legs to wrap around his waist, changing the angle slightly and I started seeing stars as he thrust deeper inside of me.

"Almost - " he muttered. "C'mon."

"Ohmygod," I gritted out, feeling it dancing barely out of my reach.

His hand slipped between us as he continued to thrust and his thumb rubbed across my clit, ripping the orgasm out of me with a cry of his name. He followed within seconds, collapsing half-on-top of me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone pray for my computer.
> 
> And AT LAST?! Right?!! :)


	33. After

"Holy shit." I'm ashamed to say those were the first words out of my mouth after Liam and I had finally  finally  had sex.

Liam chuckled, unable to keep a smile off of his face for a second as he pulled out of me and tied and tossed the condom towards the trash bin. I didn't bother to move - a few stars still dancing at the edges of my vision. He tucked himself into my side, wrapping an arm around my middle and pressing a small kiss to my jaw before laying his head next to mine on the pillow.

I turned my head to face him. "I'm totally up for round two if we go eat something first."

His smile grew into a grin, splitting across his face. "I could go for that, but baby - it's been a while, and I'm bigger than average - I don't want you to be sore tomorrow."

I wiggled my hips experimentally, noting a bit of soreness and frowning.

"See?" Liam said, his hand rubbing across my tummy in a soothing manner. "I don’t wanna hurt you."

I sighed. "Fine."

"We can go see what we can do about food, though."

I nodded, slowly sitting up and climbing out of bed. I started to grab a sheet to wrap around me, but Liam stole it from my hands with a shake of his head.

"It's only us here, love," he reminded me, offering his hand and pulling me towards the kitchen.

I frowned. "I still - "

"No, we're walking around in the nude - just because we can. No one's here but us. How often does that actually happen?" he insisted.

I chuckled. "Fine."

"Besides, I want to enjoy this view for every second that I've got it," he added, twirling me in a circle as I giggled.

\---

"Are you asleep?" I whispered.

Liam chuckled and I could feel the vibrations against his chest. "No. Why?"

"I'm wide awake," I admitted.

"Maybe you should count sheep," he suggested.

"Was it - was it really okay? For you?" I asked after a moment.

He shifts, forcing me off of his chest as he turns onto his side to face me. "It was great," he murmured. "I thought the many exclamations of 'fuck' gave that away."

I nodded, biting my lip.

"Why are you suddenly doubting yourself?"

I shrugged. "I just - I dunno. I overthink stuff when I can't sleep."

"Well, we'll just have to get you to sleep, then, won't we?"

I turned over to face the other wall, allowing him to pull me back against his chest. A few moments of silence passed and I wondered if he'd fallen asleep without me.

" Your hand fits in mine, like its made just for me, " he softly sang into my ear. " But bear this in mind, it was meant to be. And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks. And it all makes sense to me. "

"Is this your version of a lullaby?" I asked, relaxing into the sound of my favorite voice.

"Shh, you're supposed to be going to sleep," he hushed me, but I could hear the smile in his voice. " I know you've never loved the crinkles by your eyes. When you smile, you've never loved your stomach or your thighs. The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine. But I'll love them endlessly… "

\---

"Harry wants to go to a club tonight - with Carrie and some of his friends."

"You know he just wants an excuse to see you today - to see if you're limping," Liam teased, pressing a kiss to my bare shoulder.

I squirmed out of his hold, jumping up to walk around the room. I frowned as I noted a slight limp after a few steps - I was a little sore.

"Sorry, baby," Liam apologized.

I shook my head, climbing back into bed with him. "Don't apologize for good sex."

"Good? I thought we'd decided 'great' last night," he pouted.

I giggled as he pulled me closer, establishing an optimal cuddling position. He pressed another kiss to my bare shoulder as I started to text Harry back.

"I've never - I've never bottomed out before," he admitted in a quiet voice.

I set my phone aside, abandoning Harry to turn and look at my boyfriend. "What?"

"Last night was the first time I've ever - I mean, I don't usually, um, fit." He blushed, slightly, making his confession all the more adorable.

"Seriously?" I asked, awed at his revelation.

He nodded, shyly, and I pulled him into a kiss. My phone buzzed at my side and I ignored it, focusing all of my attention on snogging this beautiful man next to me. Our lips parted for just a moment as we stared into each other's eyes - a million thoughts being shared in one look - and then he was pushing me onto my back, licking his way into my mouth. My hands slid down his chest, taking my time to admire the contour of his abs. He broke away from my mouth, slowly kissing his way across my jaw.

"We can't - " he muttered. "You're sore - "

My phone buzzed again and I blindly reached for it, frustrated.

"What?" I answered. Liam continued his path down my neck and across my shoulder.

"You never answered my text," Harry's voice responded, a slight pout to his tone.

"I'm - I'm a little busy," I stuttered out.

"Well, I just wanted to know if you're in for tonight."

Liam's tongue darted out to tease against the spot just below my left ear as his fingers started kneading at my right boob, thumb brushing across the increasingly sensitive nipple. I moaned.

"Riley Anne, did you answer your phone in the middle of sex?" Harry sounded scandalized.

Liam bit a mark into my neck and I dropped the phone, hands flying to his neck and hair as I lightly thrust up against him, searching for friction.

" Liam ," I pleaded.

"Shh, I've got you, baby," he whispered before pressing a sloppy kiss to my lips. I could feel him hard against my thigh for just a moment as he adjusted his position so that he was laying on his side next to me. His hand started kneading at the inside of my thigh, teasing me. "You're gonna have to come with my fingers, baby," he muttered, slowly slipping one digit into me. "We can see how you feel tonight about taking my cock, yeah?"

I nodded as desperate, pleading noises escaped my throat.

"Another?" he dutifully asked.

I nodded and he started thrusting his two fingers in and out of me at a torturous pace. I started awkwardly thrusting up to meet his fingers, desperate for more friction, as he watched me carefully, studying how to pull each little sound out of my mouth.

"C'mon, baby," he murmured, adding a third finger as his thumb started to rub against my clit. "Come for me."

I whined, desperate to follow his orders and a few seconds later, I was coming all over his fingers with a plea of his name. He carefully worked me through my orgasm before slowly pulling his fingers out.

I heard the sound of skin against skin and looked over to see him jerking himself off. I pushed him onto his back and took his cock in my own hand, moving down 'til I was face-to-face with it. I continued his previous motion, sliding my hand up and down the shaft, looking up to see that his eyes had fallen shut as his mouth released little gasps and pleading sounds of my name.

I darted my tongue out to circle the head, smirking happily when he let out a strangled moan. I kept my hand sliding up and down as I treated the head like a lollipop, licking and sucking all over, occasionally swiping my tongue across the  lsit .

"Ri - baby - baby - baby, please - " he stuttered out.

I wrapped my mouth around the head of his cock and lightly sucked, pleased when he moaned my name. I popped my mouth off, leaving a trail of spit that I rubbed around with my thumb as I looked up at him. His eyes were open this time, watching me with dark eyes. 

"You close, baby?" I asked.

He thrust up into my hand and I licked away the  precum  that I saw spurting out as he moaned again.

"Come for me, baby," I murmured, jerking him off with one hand and reaching up to fondle his balls with the other. A moment later, he was shooting white streaks across my chest.

"Shower?" I murmured after a few minutes passed.

He nodded, drearily lifting his head to look over at me. He chuckled as he noticed the mess across my chest. "Love you," he said, pressing a kiss to my lips. 

I pulled away, tugging him out of bed and towards the bathroom. "I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another update :) What do you think Harry's gonna say? ;D


	34. Overheard

"Riley Anne, are you decent?" Harry's voice chastised me through the phone.

I giggled. "Harry, you can't even see me."

"Is Liam naked nearby?"

I glanced over at my very naked boyfriend at the kitchen counter. "No," I replied, not very convincingly.

"Can he hold off on ravishing you for a few minutes?" Harry asked, teasing.

"He's making a sandwich," I insisted.

"I heard some obscene things the last time we were on the phone - that's all I'm saying."

"Like 'Fuck, Lou, right there! Harder! Harder!'?" I teased, adding a breathy moan to the end.

Liam turned and gave me a wide-eyed look.

"Liam!" Harry squealed from the phone in a gross imitation of my voice.

" Louis ," I moaned back.

Liam started to ask and I waved him off.

"Are you gonna manage his cock tonight or settle for his fingers again?"

"Harry Edward, how long were you  listening ?" I gasped, a blush blooming across my cheeks.

He chuckled and didn't reply.

" Harry ," I demanded.

"The little breathless whines - "

"I hate you so much."

"It was the audio of a porno, I swear - "

"You better not have got off to it."

Silence from his end.

"I hate you so much."

" You  answered the phone."

"That doesn't mean you - " I growled, embarrassed and frustrated.

"Don't tell me you never got off listening to me and Lou."

My face brightened and Liam came over to sit next to me, choosing to eat his sandwich and watch me since he couldn't hear Harry's end of the conversation.

Harry chuckled. "Thought so."

"You two are  loud ," I protested.

"And I know you have earplugs  and  headphones."

"I hate you."

"I know you don't."

"I do."

"Are you coming to the club tonight?"

"Can Liam come?" I asked.

"Well, it sounded like he did - "

" Harry ."

" - but if you need some tips - "

"Harold. "

Another chuckle. "Yes, he can. We're going to a place that doesn't allow cameras or phones. Lou's coming, too."

"Yeah, we'll be there," I assured him.

"Don't forget your clothes."

" Harry, " I chastised.

"And a condom just in case."

I didn't dignify that with a response.

"See you later, love."

"I hate you so much."

\----

"That's probably Louis and Harry," I called from the bedroom. Another knock sounded at the front door. "Can you get it?"

I finished the last touches on my makeup and then almost ran into Harry on my way out of Liam's bedroom.

"Your dress, m'lady," he said, dramatically bowing and offering the garment bag to me.

"Thanks." I grinned, tossing it on the bed and starting to strip off my tank and shorts. "You look nice," I added, noting his typical dark skinny jeans with a half-unbuttoned patterned top - blue and purple floral for tonight.

"Marked you up, didn't he?" Harry asked as I turned for him to zip me up.

"Harry  - "

"What? You've got the neck covered pretty well, but - "

"What'd I miss?" I asked, darting over to the closest mirror.

Harry chuckled. "You didn't notice the bite on your chest?" he asked, coming over to point at the space between my breasts.

"Oh, my dress covers it - what're you doing looking at my chest anyways?" I demanded, playfully slapping him on my way over to my shoes.

"A guy can be observant," Harry insisted.

"I doubt my boyfriend would feel the same," I commented, walking out to join Louis and Liam in the living room.

"How much makeup did it take?" Louis smirked as soon as he saw me.

Liam smacked him in the shoulder and shot him a glare.

"You look lovely, Riley," Louis corrected himself, rubbing his shoulder.

"You should see the hickey - "

I slapped my hand across Harry's mouth to stop him with a small blush.

Liam cleared his throat. "Are we ready to go?"

\---

"Hi, Riley! Glad you could make it!" Carrie greeted me before turning to hug Harry. "Where're your boyfriends?"

"A few minutes behind us," Harry assured her.

"Great! Let's get drinks!" Carrie replied, wandering off into the crowd towards the bar.

Harry turned to the small group she'd left behind. "This is Marc, Carly, and Jamie," he introduced me.

I nodded and smiled at the new acquaintances.

"You want a drink?" Harry asked me.

"Yes, please."

"Be right back." And just like that I was left with a few practical strangers in the middle of a club. It was a bit too loud to have much of a conversation, so we just awkwardly stood there for a few moments - none of them sure what to say to me, either.

"Let's grab a table," Carly suggested. I grinned as I caught the American accent with a bit of a Southern twang.

\---

"Liam!" I exclaimed, happily hugging my boyfriend.

"Started without us?" he chuckled, carefully hugging me and then pulling away.

"Only a couple," I insisted, lifting my drink to clink it against his.

"A couple of what?" he asked, turning to Harry when I shrugged.

\---

"How many have you had?" Liam asked, mouth close to my ear so I could hear him over the music.

"I dunno. I think this is my fourth shot?" I turned to wrap my arms around his neck.

"Riley - " He pulled away.

"What?" I asked, frowning.

"I think you need to slow down."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm  fine , Liam."

Carly made a face behind Liam and I broke into hysterical laughter. Liam glanced over his shoulder to see Carly folded double, giggling and clutching her stomach.

Jamie appeared and grabbed my hand. "Come dance, love," he insisted.

I followed him onto the dance floor, leaving my boyfriend behind. I giggled as Jamie tried to act suave and twirl me around. I almost fell and then we were both laughing as Jamie clutched me to his chest.

\---

"Liiii," I pleaded, tugging at his hand. "Dance with me."

"What happened to Jamie?" Liam frowned.

"Carly took him," I replied. "But  youuu . I  wanna  dance with  youuu ."

"Riley, I - "

I cut him off with a quick sloppy kiss.

"C'mon," I insisted.

"One dance," he acquiesced. "Then we're leaving."

\---

"But Liam," I pouted as he pulled me off the dance floor.

He steered me over to Louis and Harry. "We're heading out," he informed them. "You ready or - ?"

Louis shot Harry a heated look that made me giggle.

"Yeah, let's go," Harry agreed.

\---

"Liam," I pleaded, tugging at his shirt as we entered the house.

"Staying over?" Louis asked.

Liam nodded.

"Not if we're not having sex!" I exclaimed, drunk and frustrated. I heard chuckles behind me as I stumbled back to my bedroom. I kicked off my shoes and laid back on my bed, glaring at the ceiling.

A few minutes later, I heard someone enter and close the bedroom door.

"Love, you need to drink this," Liam said, sitting down next to me. I looked over to see he was holding out a bottle of water.

I sat up with a frustrated sigh, taking the bottle and downing half of it in one go.

We stared at each other for a moment. Liam's hand settled on my thigh, fiddling with the bottom of my dress. "You still sore?" he asked.

I shook my head and he just looked at me, waiting for an honest response.

"I'm fine," I insisted, pulling him into a sloppy kiss.

"I don't wanna hurt you," he murmured, gently kissing me back.

"I  want  you," I pleaded, awkwardly climbing into his lap. "I'm  fine ."

His hands slipped up to grip my hips. "Okay." His lips pressed the word into my mouth and I giggled. He reached around to unzip my dress, rolling his eyes.

" Fuck, Lou ," Harry's voice interrupted my giggling and my eyes widened.

"This is why we stay at my place," Liam insisted with a frown.

"They're just - "

" Louis ."

Liam grimaced.

I rubbed down against him. "C'mon, you can make me scream."

He just looked at me.

I broke into another fit of giggling.

"You are in no condition to - "

I cut him off with a kiss, barely containing the giggles that threatened to burst forth.

He pulled away with a shake of his head, easily lifting me off his lap.

I smiled as he pushed the straps of my dress off my shoulders and then tugged the fabric down and off. He turned and pulled back the covers and gestured me into bed. I frowned.I tried kissing him again and he just chuckled. 

"Not tonight, darling."

I sighed and climbed into bed, reaching around to unhook my bra and toss it across the room.

He stripped down to his boxers. He turned the light off before joining me, wrapping his arms around my middle as he settled into the pillow behind me.

"I love you," he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a bit of a wait on this one, but Unconventionally in Love is started!!!!!


	35. Insatiable

"What're you doing?" I murmured, barely awake. Liam was shifting around behind me and it wasn't very conducive to my desire to sleep.

I felt his lips press against my bare shoulder.

"Babe?" I asked again, registering the slight ache in my head as I gained consciousness.

I felt his fingers skimming across my bare stomach. His lips moved to my neck and I squirmed slightly, wanting to turn around to face him. He hissed as my thigh brushed his growing erection and I tried not to chuckle.

"Dreaming about me, baby?" I teased, finally getting him to move back enough that I could roll over.

"You know it," he muttered, pressing a kiss to my mouth. I pulled away as he tried to slide his tongue between my lips, shaking my head.

"My breath is rank after last night - you do  not  want to taste this," I insisted.

He rolled his eyes and turned his attention to my neck, kissing his way over to the little spot he knew drove me wild. I laid back and let him move on top of me, reaching up to touch his chest. I gasped as his fingers played against the edge of my panties.

"Baby," he whispered. "Please say you can - "

"Fuck, Li," I muttered. "Yes, yes, whatever you want."

He kissed me again as his hand slid down to rub a finger across my clit. I moaned and he leaned in to whisper in my ear.

"C'mon, babe. You can be louder than that." He pulled back to give me a look and I almost laughed at the competitive gleam in his eyes.

"Liiii," I screamed. He smirked and slipped a finger inside of me, causing me to let out a genuine moan of his name. "Move, move."

He shook his head, moving down to pull my panties off before slowly acquiescing. He drug his finger out and pushed back in at a torturous pace, watching me carefully. I reached up and lightly pinched his left nipple and he gasped, shooting me a small glare.

He suddenly added a second finger and I moaned, eyes falling shut for a second. I started thrusting up to meet him and he grinned.

"Think you're ready for me, babe?" he teased, watching as I fucked myself up against his fingers. "You want another?"

"Please," I gasped. "Please, Li."

Another finger slid in to join the first two and he slowly crooked his fingers.

"Li, Li, Li," I chanted, quickly turning desperate for more, more, more.

His fingers disappeared and I couldn’t stop the whine that escaped my throat at the absence. He chuckled lightly and I looked down to see him sliding a condom on, his boxers having vanished at some point.

"Liiiii," I pleaded, spreading my legs. "C'mon. C'mon."

As soon as the tip of his cock sunk into me, I pulled him down into a kiss, desperate for the connection.

"Baby - " he protested, trying to slowly sink into me.

"No, no, c'mon, I can take it," I insisted against his lips. 

Our mouths crashed together as he thrust into me. A deep groan escaped his throat as he drug his cock out and our lips parted as we tried to remember to breathe.

He thrust forward and I whined his name, high-pitched and embarrassingly loud.

"Fuck, I love you."

" Move ," I demanded.

He started to chuckle but it was cut off into a loud moan as I leaned up to run my tongue across his nipple.

" Move,  please," I said again, squirming beneath him at his slow pace. Suddenly, I realized the problem. "Feels so good, baby. So good. C'mon, fuck me, baby. Make me come."

"Riley," he murmured, quickening his pace. "Fuck. So tight. Baby - god, so good."

"Fuck," I repeated as my hips rose to meet him. "So full."

He muttered nonsense a few more moments and then all we heard was the smacking and sliding of skin mixed with a few gasps from either of us.

"Almost - " Liam muttered, pace faltering. "C'mon - come for me, baby." His lips circled my right nipple and I was gone as his tongue curled around it, sucking lightly. A mangled scream escaped my lips - his name and a few swear words combined. Liam followed after another few thrusts, my name across his lips.

Liam pulled out, tying off the condom and tossing it towards the trash. He laid down next to me, wrapping his arms around me.

" Louuuuu ," Harry's voice interrupted our post-orgasm cuddle.

"Fuck, I hate them," I murmured, pressing my face into Liam's bare chest.

He chuckled.

\---

"Just let me go get something from the boys' room for you," I insisted. I slipped out of the room and down the hallways, pausing to knock at the boys' bedroom door.

"Come in," Louis called.

I opened the door to find them both laying on the bed, very naked.

"I've got my fill of naked men, thanks," I told them, dryly, ignoring the slight blush rising to my cheeks.

"Aw, you weren't coming to join us, Riley, love?" Louis asked, smirking.

I shook my head and turned to check out their closet. "I was gonna grab some sweats for Li."

"Sounded like you had quite the wakeup call," Louis commented.

"Sounded like you two were trying to compete."

"There is no competition - " Louis started.

"I woke up with my cock halfway down his throat, Ri," Harry exclaimed. "You just stay quiet - "

"Oh my - "

"He's a very vocal lover." Louis grinned.

"Can't you two at least cover up?" I asked, exiting the closet with a pair of Harry's sweats.

They both chuckled. "Nothing you haven't seen before, babe."

"See something you like?" Louis smirked.

"You know you're attractive but - "

"Liam could come watch."

"Wow, Louis. Is this what he's like post-orgasm or something?" I asked Harry.

He chuckled. "Heard you this morning - got him all worked up."

I blushed, turning to leave. "I do have a boyfriend," I reminded them.

"Fuck, yeah, we heard," Louis muttered.

\---

"I'm never staying over again," Liam informed the two boys as they entered the kitchen.

"Afraid you can't compete?" Louis asked.

"It's not a competition," I insisted. "And if it were - pretty sure I've already been informed Li would be winning."

Harry laughed.

"Only if he knows how to use it," Louis added.

I smirked. "I can assure you, he definitely does."

Harry walked over to the freezer, shuffling a few things around before pausing to turn to me. "Are you icing?"

I shot him a confused look. "What?"

"I'll take that as a 'no'," he muttered. He grabbed an ice pack out of the freezer and tossed it to me.

"It helps with the - uh, soreness," Louis supplied.

"Huh, hadn't thought of that," Liam muttered.

"Well, you wouldn't have, would you?" Louis smirked as Liam blushed.

I was still glancing between the boys, unsure how I felt about their discussing my vagina.

"Between your legs," Harry prodded. "I swear it helps. I used to do it all the time - still do when Lou gets a bit carried away."

"Um, okay." I awkwardly shifted the ice pack between my legs, wincing at the coldness. "Can we please move this conversation away from my sore - "

"Are you gonna spend the day with us?" Harry interrupted. "We've barely gotten to see you," he added with a resentful look towards Liam.

Liam's hand rose in apology. "You can have her."

"Fuck her and leave her, huh?"

I smacked Louis's arm. "What the hell is up with you today?"

"Abusive!" he protested. "Take her back!"

" Nooo , we want her," Harry insisted. "Louis's just - sexually frustrated."

Liam and I exchanged a confused look. "Weren't you - this morning - "

Harry rolled his eyes. "He's insatiable some days."

"And you want me to stay?" I asked.

"Yes," they both answered.

"Don't get my girlfriend involved in anything kinky," Liam warned them. "I'll go see what Zayn's up to." He came over to kiss me goodbye. "Love you," he murmured.

"Love you, too." I smiled.

" Love you, Liam ," Harry said, walking over to press a sloppy kiss to Liam's cheek with a laugh.

"Bring Z if you can pull him away from all that spray paint," Louis added.


	36. Awkward

"Let's please not discuss how sore my vagina is in the future," I muttered as I tossed the ice pack into the sink.

"Just worried about your well-being, love," Harry said. "Since Liam apparently doesn’t know better."

"Hey! He's not - neither of us thought of it."

Louis walked up behind Harry, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing his face into Harry's shoulder. I wasn't sure, but it looked like Louis'd kissed the skin before settling against him.

"Are you sure you want me here today?" I asked.

Harry squirmed out of Louis's arms. "Absolutely."

A small pout formed against Louis's lips.

"Can you hold off?" I quirked an eyebrow at him.

"You can tie me up later," Harry promised. Louis's eyes darkened as he bit his lip and nodded. "Only if you're good," Harry singsonged with a smirk.

"So that's a thing I didn't need to know…" I muttered.

"Bet Li'd enjoy tying you up." Louis smirked.

I blushed.

Harry came over to wrap my wrists between his long fingers. "You like that idea? It's pretty hot letting someone else take control." 

They were both watching me carefully and I shook Harry's hand away. "You promised no kinky stuff."

Harry laughed. "You know we'd never do anything - Li'd kill us."

Louis chuckled, brushing a stray hair out of my face.

"What  are  we doing today?" I asked.

"We could barbecue tonight," Harry offered. "It's nice enough out."

"Nice enough for the pool?" I grinned.

"You sure  Li'll  want you  walkin ' around - "

"Lou! You've seen me in a bikini - get over it," I told him with a slap to his arm.

He just chuckled.

\---

"Louis!" I squealed, jerking away from his hands. "You know I'm - ticklish! Stop!" 

His fingers teased at my bare sides and I darted outside to escape him. He followed close behind, grabbing me and throwing me into the pool as I screamed. 

I kicked to the surface, coughing and gasping for air.

"What's going on?" Harry arrived outside in his tiny yellow swim trunks. I pointed at Louis and Harry started towards him, an evil gleam in his eye.

I laughed as he chased Louis around the pool, catching up to push him into the pool. As soon as he came up for  air, I was on him - pushing him back underwater. He somehow managed to switch our positions, dunking me for a second before I clawed at his chest to get him to stop.

"You're lucky I didn't lose my top!" I exclaimed, frustrated as I double-checked the knot at my back.

Louis chuckled as Harry slid into the water. "Lucky, huh?"

I splashed him, irritated.

"Kidding! Kidding!" he protested, moving around me towards Harry. "I've already go four nipples to ogle right here." He patted Harry's chest.

I laughed as he kissed the frown off Harry's face.

\---

"You can't cook like that," Harry insisted. "You'll burn something."

I frowned. "You're only wearing tiny shorts. How is that better?"

"You can't cook in a bikini," he repeated, walking over to grab an apron to put on and then offering me a frilly purple one. "If you aren't getting dressed - "

I snatched the apron from his hand. "Do you realize how ridiculous we look?" I asked, slipping the apron over my head.

"You'll thank me eventually. Don't want to burn anything important."

I rolled my eyes. "Learn that from experience?"

His eyes darted to mine as one hand went to cup his crotch.

I giggled as he nodded.

\---

"Wait, wait, wait, I want a selfie like this - we look hilarious," I pleaded.

Harry rolled his eyes and posed for the picture, glaring at the camera.

"You make it look like  I'm  the one that put us in these."

"What will the world believe?"

"Who said the world would see it? This is being saved to my private collection," I replied.

He chuckled. "Private collection, huh?"

I slapped his arm. "Don't be so dirty."

\---

"You're making cookies?" Louis exclaimed.

"Yeah. You best behave or I won't let you have any," I teased, continuing to plop spoonfuls of dough onto the cookie sheet.

He darted around me, plunging his fingers into the dough.

"Lou!" I protested, but he already had his fingers to his lips, thoroughly licking them clean. "That's probably why Harry gets distracted in the kitchen with you."

"Why?" He smirked. "Am I distracting you?" he asked, tongue dragging through the spaces between his fingers.

"You're a menace. You say Harry's bad!"

"Bad at what?" Harry asked, coming through the back door.

"Lou's over her licking his fingers trying to be seductive or something."

Harry chuckled. "There's no try about it - look at that tongue…" His voice trailed off as he focused on his boyfriend's fingers and mouth.

Louis shot me a smirk. "Make it without him for a few?" he asked.

"Go. Go! Li should be here with Zayn any minute."

"We won't be long," Louis insisted, pulling Harry out of the kitchen and down the hall.

"You might wanna turn some music - " Harry's words cut off into a moan I could feel all the way to my toes.

I quickly flipped on the kitchen's radio, turning the volume to an almost deafening level. I slid the loaded cookie sheet into the oven, setting the timer and telling myself to keep an eye on it. Absentmindedly, I cleaned and checked on the cooking food and danced around the kitchen to the music.

Suddenly, I felt hands on my bare hips and jumped.

"Just me, babe," Liam assured me. "We knocked, but no one came."

"Why's it so loud in here?" Zayn asked over the music, walking over to turn it down.

"Trying not to hear the noises Lou's pulling out of Harry right now," I explained.

Liam huffed out a laugh. "Can't keep their hands off each other."

"I'm surprised they held off this long, actually - "

"They both dressed in next to nothing like you?" Liam teased, pinching my hip.

"We've been swimming," I protested, slapping his hand away.

"You could take this off," Liam said, pulling at the strings of my apron. "You look ridiculous - in a cute way, of course."

"Nice save," Zayn chuckled.

"Harry was worried I'd burn something important," I informed them as Liam pulled the apron off over my head.

"Clearly he's more worried for my safety - " Liam cut me off with a kiss.

"Oh, are we interrupting?" Louis teased. Harry walked in right behind him, appearing a bit blissed out. "And with Zayn right here!" Louis added. "Kinky."

I rolled my eyes. "As if."

"We'd definitely ask him to join, rather than make him stand there." Liam smirked as Zayn blushed.

"Okay, whoa. Harry, go check on the burgers," I said, trying to change the topic as my oven timer went off.

"Those look amazing," Louis commented, actually choosing to follow my lead instead of teasing me for once.

\---

"I said no more discussing my vagina!" I exclaimed upon overhearing Liam ask Louis if I'd been limping at all. "You do understand that neither of them have vaginas, right? So they don't really know everything."

Louis chuckled as Liam and Zayn both blushed.

"All I asked was if you'd looked sore today," Liam pouted. "Not like these two would have any qualms about telling me."

"You could've asked me that, babe."

"And you would've lied."

Harry chuckled.

"Shut up, Harry," I muttered.

It was silent for a moment before Louis pulled Zayn into a conversation and Liam leaned over to talk to me.

"You know I just don't want to hurt you," he murmured.

I nodded. "But you're leaving in a couple days," I reminded him.

"Then Paris is only a week away."

"A week isn't too bad, but then - "

"I know, baby," he interrupted. "We'll make it work. And I hope you know that I would absolutely love for you to come see me any time that you want - wherever we are. If it gets too hard, just hop on the next flight out, yeah?"

I bit my lip, blinking away the sudden wetness in my eyes. "Okay."

"I love you," he whispered.

"Yeah, I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments/kudos appreciated!
> 
> Unconventionally (the next part of the Rilourry 'verse) will be updated next Sunday! If you haven't read what's there, go check it out and let me know what you think :)
> 
> AND next chapter will be a Liley/Larry double date :) :) :)


	37. Double Date

"Stop acting suspicious!" Louis hissed.

"This is - " I started.

"Going to be  fine,"  Liam assured me. "It's  just  a double date, love."

"That could out all of us and - god, when did this become my life?" I glanced at a group of kids passing on our left, eyes darting away when one of the boys' eyes met mine.

"You know we go on dates all the time, right?" Harry smirked. "And it's never been a problem."

"Fine, fine. I'll relax."

"It's a  carnival.  It's supposed to be fun," Liam reminded me.

"And there's lots of people - we'll totally blend in," Louis added.

"We drove two hours outside of London to ease your worry," Harry said. "That was supposed to ease your worry. We're the quote unquote famous ones here."

"And I'm the one that's going to get in the most trouble - " Liam started.

"Which is why I'm worried! I don't want you to get into trouble!" I insisted.

Harry stopped, grabbing me by the shoulders and staring into my eyes. "I assure you, as a closeted member of the biggest boy band in the world - we do this  all  the time and don't get caught. It's going to be  fine ."

"Ooo, funnel cakes," Liam exclaimed, suddenly darting away from my side. Louis was close on his heels, leaving me and Harry to pursue them in the growing crowd.

"Good to know sweets set them off," I mumbled.

Harry chuckled, his hand on my waist so we wouldn't lose each other in the crowd.

"Li, you wanna share one?" I asked, once we'd caught up with them.

Liam pouted.

I laughed. "Okay, I'll take that as a 'no'…"

"I'm hungry," he insisted.

"I'll split one with you, love," Harry assured me. "Lou won't share either."

"I just don't think I can eat a whole one," I admitted.

"Chocolate? Strawberry?" Harry asked as we approached the window.

"Chocolate!"

\---

Liam leaned in and licked my nose.

"Hey!" I protested.

He grinned. "Cleaning you up, darling."

I wiped at my nose, blindly searching for the remaining chocolate syrup and powdered sugar.. "Is it all off?"

He smirked and leaned in to kiss me, tongue sweeping across my bottom lip and then my top before slipping into my mouth.

"Don't be gross," Louis protested.

"Be nice," Harry told him.

Liam and I parted with a smile.

"Like we haven't had to deal with you two snogging at every opportunity," I said.

"We haven't kissed in - "

"Maybe ten minutes," I interrupted Harry's protest.

"Well, that's got to be rectified," Louis said, leaning over to press his lips to Harry's. Their mouths slid together for a moment and I rolled my eyes at Liam.

"We aren't that bad, right?" I asked.

"You two are still in the honeymoon phase," Harry said. "You haven't even had a proper fight yet. You're definitely worse than us."

"We have to have a fight to not be disgusting?" Liam asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Although, you shouldn't get into a fight while we're on tour, 'cause we'd definitely take Riley's side and that could be awkward," Louis added.

I smirked.

"But you've known me longer," Liam protested.

Harry shrugged. "She's our girl."

"Well, I don't think we can schedule our fights - I'd really rather not have any at all," Liam said.

I smiled. "I don't wanna fight either." I pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. "Especially not while you're away."

Liam frowned. "Definitely not."

Louis made a gagging noise.

"I barely ever see you two fight," I commented.

They both shrugged. "Got most of it out of our systems. All the big stuff," Louis said.

"Riiight."

"It's been years," Harry reminded me. "And we don't fight in front of you."

Louis slapped his arm. "You're supposed to let her believe we never fight."

"Wait, does the  Ed  thing count as a fight?" I asked, turning back to my boyfriend.

He looked away, not wanting to answer.

"He had a jealous fit, but I don't think that'd count," Harry said.

"It wasn't a jealous fit," Liam insisted.

"It was - it was fine. A big misunderstanding," I said.

Liam gave me a look that said it was more than that.

"What? I danced with another guy - "

"That you've kissed before," Liam interrupted.

"Fine, that I've kissed before. But that only happened because of these two," I insisted.

Louis and Harry nodded, guiltily.

"Whatever, drop it," Liam muttered.

"You were jealous, it's fine - "

"I think I had a right to be a bit jealous, babe."

"Fine. Sure. I understand where you're coming from. I'm just saying it won't happen again and I'm sorry that it ever did, okay?"

"Okay," he muttered, pressing a kiss to my cheek. "Let's forget it."

"Deal."

"That's closest I've seen to a fight, but it still only counts as an argument," Louis commented.

"We don't fight on command, Lou." I reached over and smacked him.

"Let's go ride some rides," Harry said, bouncing in his seat.

Liam chuckled. "Yeah, let's go puke up these funnel cakes."

\---

"Wait, stop - " I said, halting Liam from kissing me. "There's somebody - she looks like she's recognized Harry."

Liam pulled me away from the happy couple. "We'll be in line for the ferris wheel," he told them.

Harry frowned. "What's - "

"Nine o'clock," I replied, directing his gaze to the girl I'd seen pointing a phone our way.

"Shouldn't we - Riley with me?" Harry quickly said.

"Nope," Liam said, pulling me into the crowd.

"You really think this is a good idea?" I asked.

"People don't recognize Lou as much as Haz - they don't recognize any of us as much as Haz. They probably won't even realize Louis's standing there."

"And us?"

"I'm not that recognizable." He shrugged.

"I doubt that."

"We did drive an hour and a half out of London to come to this thing - I don't think people are looking for us around here anyhow."

"Yeah, I guess."

"It was your idea to drive outside of London," he added.

"Well, a double date seemed a bit risky."

Liam shrugged. "We can't let the fans ruin everything."

"They don't ruin everything."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah, okay. But we should probably head out soon. They may not keep it quiet that they've spotted Harry and then - "

"The masses will be searching for him, yeah."

\---

"We stayed under the radar pretty well," Louis said.

"A successful double date," Harry added.

I nodded from the front seat. "Yeah. Only one picture and Harry's the only one in it."

"Didn't even recognize me." Louis smirked.

"And didn't catch Liam taking off with my girlfriend, either," Harry said, grinning.

"Remaining incognito," Liam muttered.

"Stop for dinner on the way back. I'm starving."

"Louis, you just ate."

"So? I'm hungry."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short and sorry it took forever! :) I've been reading and brainstorming on another project (an actual book, not fanfic) so I just hadn't gotten to this :(
> 
> Hope you enjoyed. :)
> 
> OH and I'm participating as an author in 1D Write Now, if anyone is interested! I've reblogged the info on my tumblr, or you can just go to 1DWriteNow.tumblr.com to check it out. It's basically raising money for charity and depending on how much you donate, you can prompt an author to write for you! Go check it out and reblog the info to get the word out, even if you don't have any money to spare for the project :)
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	38. Gonna Miss You

"What's wrong?" Liam asked. He paused in the twirling of his spaghetti. "You've barely eaten."

I shrugged one shoulder. "You're leaving in the morning," I muttered.

"We'll see each other in Paris next week," he reminded me.

"Yeah," I admitted, still playing with my food. I'd made the effort to cook for him his last night at home - spaghetti and garlic bread. It wasn't anything too fancy, but I hadn't wanted to waste too much time on food.

"Baby, I'm gonna miss you; you know that, right?"

I nodded, looking up at him.

"But you don't need to miss me yet," he insisted with a small smile. "I'm still right here. We've got - " He glanced down at his watch. "Almost fourteen hours before I leave in the morning."

"How's the food?" I asked, trying to force myself into a mindset that didn't have him leaving in fourteen hours.

"Delicious. You should try some." He shot a meaningful look down at my full plate.

I chuckled.

"I am looking forward to dessert," he added with a teasing smirk.

"Good, I got an apple pie from the store," I replied, feigning innocence.

"Sounds good, but you know that's not the dessert I meant."

I just grinned. "What are the plans for Paris?"

"I've got a few things in mind, but it all depends on sneaking out of the hotel."

I nodded, taking a large bite of spaghetti.

"Of course, you can wander off whenever you like - "

"'Cause I'm gonna come spend time with you by leaving you behind?"

"Don't you have a date with Harry while we're there?" he asked.

"Yeah, but that's just one dinner probably. They haven't really filled me in on the details on that. Are you all gonna be at the same hotel?"

He nodded. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure we are."

"Because you being at a different hotel than Harry could prove difficult."

He chuckled. "You think Louis and Harry are ever in the same hotel?"

"In reality, yes. But fine, I get your point."

\---

"I love you," Liam murmured, pressing kisses across my collarbone.

"I love you, too," I whispered, choking up a little.

"Shh, I'm still here, baby." His hand brushed a stray hair out of my face. "You're so beautiful."

"Liam - " I started and he cut me off with a kiss - his tongue running across my bottom lip before pulling away. I pouted up at him.

He chuckled lightly before starting a trail of kisses down my chest and stomach; a light kiss to each thigh - back and forth until I'm squirming under his touch.

"Okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," I replied, breathless.

His lips brushed my entrance and my hands clenched the bedspread as he slowly let out a breath, cool air caressing my heated center. His tongue teased me with little swipes until I let out a pleading whine of his name.

I thought I heard him chuckle, but then  his tongue was pressing into me and I couldn't focus on anything else.

" Liiii ."

A small hum from him caused vibrations that had me moaning. Then he was fucking me with his tongue and I had to remind myself to breathe. His tongue curled and thrust into me as I lost myself to the sensations. His thumb joined in to rub circles across my clit and then I was coming, my fingers fisting into his hair. He lapped up every bit before moving up to kiss my mouth as I sighed in complete contentment. I tasted myself on his tongue and then his fingers were pressing into me.

"Okay, love?" he murmured and I pulled back to see his eyes were dark with lust.

"Yeah," I replied. "Just don't - "

"Rush. Yeah, I've got you, baby," he assured me. His thumb gently stroked my clit, watching for my reaction. A small wince at the sensitivity and then I was pleading for more as I pulled his lips down to mine.

\---

"I'm gonna miss this," Liam murmured, pressing a kiss into my hair.

I smirked. "What? Getting some every night?"

"No," he pouted. "Falling asleep with you in my arms."

"Yeah, back to sleeping alone."

"And in different beds every night."

"I'll have the house to myself again," I said, sighing.

"At least there's Skype," he muttered.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"And phone sex and Skype sex and - "

I cut him off with an elbow to the gut and he laughed.

"Seriously, though," he insisted. "I'll talk to you so much you'll be sick of me."

"Yeah, maybe," I teased. "Harry could probably get me Ed's number."

A moment of silence and then he bit my bare shoulder.

A startled laugh escaped me before I asked, "What the hell was that?"

"You're mean," he stated.

I turned to look at him. "So you bite me like a two-year-old?"

He grinned. "A two-year-old would've made it hurt."

"Is it too soon to tease you about - "

"Yes," he admitted. "It's not like it'd be hard for you to find someone  here  and not - "

"Just because  you're  in love with me, doesn't mean the whole world is," I insisted.

He frowned. "Great argument there, Riley."

I grinned. " And  I don't want anyone else, of course."

He kissed my forehead. "Better."

"You're the one going on tour with four hot lads," I said, shooting him a look.

"Good thing I don't swing that way."

"Except for - "

"No. That's not a thing. We aren't - we won't - Nothing's happening there," he insisted.

"Yeah, I know. I trust you," I assured him.

"Good," he mumbled, leaning back on the pillow behind me.

\---

I woke up before Liam the next morning. His arms were wrapped around my middle and I could feel his bare body pressed against me.  I'll see him in a week , I reminded myself.  I don't need to make this any harder for him. Don't cry, Riley. Keep it together.

I felt a light kiss pressed to my neck. "Gonna miss this," Liam murmured as one of his hands came up to cup my breast, thumb lightly teasing the nipple. I could feel his cock hard against my thigh. He stopped me from turning over to face him.

"Relax," he whispered into my shoulder before pressing kisses there.

"What're you - " The question ends in a gasp as his fingers slide into me for a second, disappearing before I have a chance to enjoy it.

The tip of his cock pressed against my entrance a moment later. I spread my legs the best I could and he slowly pushed into me with a groan, cursing quietly as he bottoms out. His arm wrapped back around me as he froze with his skin pressed to mine and his cock deep inside me. His hand wrapped around mine - folding over my knuckles, fingers slotting between mine.

"I love you," he whispered.

"Love you, too, babe," I replied.

He pulled his cock out at a snail's pace as he continued. "Gonna miss this?" he murmured.

I nodded.

"Gonna think about it?"

"Liam - " I started to protest.

"What're you gonna think about?" he whispered, slowly pressing back into me.

"Li - "

"C'mon, baby, give me some visuals," he pleaded.

"I don't - " I shook my head, blushing. "Isn't that what sexting is for?"

I could feel a small smile on his lips as he pressed them against my shoulder again. "I didn't think you were comfortable with that yet."

"I'm willing to - try," I replied around a moan as he bottomed out again.

"Something to look forward to," he murmured.

"Move, please," I begged as he started to slowly drag his cock out again.

He chuckled. "This is supposed to be a lazy morning fuck."

I pulled off and away from him to turn around.

"What - " he started before I pressed his back to the mattress and climbed on top of him.

"We can try the lazy thing another time - when you aren't about to leave," I muttered, lining him up and then slowly sinking down onto his cock with a groan.

His hands settled at my thighs and I leaned forward to press a kiss to his lips - morning breath be damned.

I pressed my hands to his shoulders and stared into his eyes as I started to fuck myself on his cock.

His mouth dropped open as he started a litany of praises interspersed with my name. His eyes were dark with lust as I adjusted my angle, leaning back so that I was sinking straight down onto him. I saw stars a moment later as he brushed against the perfect place inside of me. I quickened my pace, bouncing on his cock as I thrust him up against that spot over and over until I was coming - fingers digging into his chest, mouth dropped open and moaning.

"Holy fuck," I vaguely heard him mutter as I collapsed against him, completely sated. I whined as he thrust into me a couple more times before I felt the condom filling inside me. "That was incredible," he whispered a moment later, pulling my hair away from my face.

I hummed in contentment and a few seconds later, he rolled me off his chest so that he could pull out and rid himself of the condom.

"We should shower," he told me. "The car'll be here in an hour."

I sighed and slowly climbed out of bed.

"You're very quiet this morning," he said, grabbing my hand and leading me towards the bathroom.

"Ninety percent of my brain is crowded with 'I'm gonna miss you' and I didn't think you'd wanna hear it over and over," I admitted.

"You did that with only ten percent of your brain?!" he teased and I swatted his arm with a blush. He turned the shower on and then turned to kiss me. "I'm gonna miss you, too, love. A lot. What can I do to make this easier?"

I sighed. "Call and text a lot."

"Definitely," he agreed.

"Don't forget about me," I added in a small voice.

He pulled me into a hug. "Like I could ever."

\---

"Are you sure you don't want dropped off at home?" Liam asked.

"I've got clothes in the dryer…"

Liam walked over to a kitchen drawer and pulled something out before returning to my side. "I've been meaning to give you this," he said, holding out a key. "You can go say bye to Louis and Harry and come back for your laundry later."

"You're giving me a key?" I asked, surprised.

He grinned and nodded. "The car's waiting. C'mon, babe."

\---

Harry lifted me up and spun me around before pressing a kiss to my lips.

" Harry. " I giggled, shocked out of my sad mood for a moment.

"Maybe I should've left you at mine," Liam muttered.

I shot him a grin.

"I could kiss you, Li," Louis offered. "Even the playing field."

"No!" Harry and I both protested.

I gave Louis a quick hug before he and Harry climbed into the car, leaving me alone with my boyfriend. Liam pulled me into a passionate kiss, lifting my feet off of the ground for a moment.

"I love you," he told me.

"Don't hurt Harry too bad," I told him and he frowned. "He was snapping me out of my mood. Distracting me." I kissed him again. "And I love you so so much, babe."

He smiled. "Don't eat too much ice cream."

I frowned.

"I know you're going to buy Ben and Jerry's to fill in for me."

"Chocolate releases the same endorphins as being in love," I told him.

"I'll still love you if you get fat."

I slapped his arm. "Shut up. I'm not - that doesn't matter. Shouldn't I be telling you to behave? What with all those girls - "

He cut me off with another kiss. "I love you. I'll call you later," he said.

I nodded, blinking away tears.

He pulled me into a tight hug and kissed my forehead before joining the other two in the car.

"Love you," I said, waving.

"Love you!"

"Love you, too!"

"Love you, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took me so long. Hopefully updates will be more regular from now on!


	39. Game Night

** Dinner w/ friends tonight at mine? **

** This is Carrie. H gave me your # **

** I know they all left today. Don't be mopey **

I chuckled at the final message, well aware that I'd had plans with Ben & Jerry as my date in front of the TV for the evening.

_** What time and where? ** _

I sat the phone down next to me, continuing to fold my laundry. I'd darted back over to Liam's to finish up as soon as the car had pulled away a couple hours ago.

Carrie replied with her address a few moments later and I quickly assured her that I would be there.

I finished my laundry and did a quick double-check through the house to make sure I didn't leave anything behind. I slipped into Liam's closet at the last moment, taking a deep breath and looking around.  A worn grey hoodie beckoned me over and it was off the hanger and into my bag before I could overthink it. I'd probably sleep in it for the next week. The smell would make him feel closer - he didn't have to know I was stealing his clothes. He wasn't likely to even notice with the sheer amount of clothing he owned.

\---

"Have you been mopey?" Carrie asked as soon as she opened her door. "I promised Harry I'd keep you from moping."

I laughed, glad Harry'd introduced me to this friendly girl. "I stole a hoodie from Li's closet, but otherwise I don't think so?" I replied.

She grinned. "I'll report the mission is going well. Now, come in. Come in. I'll introduce you around."

"Riley!" Carly appeared and immediately gave me a quick hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Here I am." I shrugged, surprised at her enthusiasm.

"Her boys left for tour this morning," Carrie filled in.

"Game night is the perfect thing to combat loneliness!" Carly insisted with a  grin.

"Game night?" I turned to Carrie with raised eyebrows.

She smirked. "Wasn't sure if you'd be up for it, but now you're here and we won't let you leave!" She chuckled, evilly. 

"Sweetie, could you come watch this for a sec?" A feminine voice called from what I assumed was the kitchen.

"Be right there!" Carrie answered.

Carly tucked her arm through mine. "I'll introduce you around," she assured me, leading me further into the house.

\---

"Right foot, blue!" Carrie called out.

The four of us - Jamie, Melissa, Ginny, and myself - easily placed our sock-covered feet on the mat in front of us.

"Jamie, how'd you get in with three girls?" Will asked from the couch.

Jamie laughed. "Jealous? I think I should be able to win this round."

"Left hand, red!"

Melissa reached over and slapped Jamie with her free hand, causing him to wobble slightly.

"There's no hitting in this game!" Jamie protested.

"It's a full contact game, get over it," Melissa laughed.

Another few moves and the playful banter continued as it got harder and harder to remain on our hands and feet with the slippery mat underneath us. Melissa and Jamie quit trying to knock each other out when they accidentally knocked Ginny in the nose - she remained in the game though, despite the momentary pain.

"What a way to get to know each other, right?!" Ginny laughed as my elbow pressed against her boob in my awkward attempt to reach a yellow dot.

I laughed along with her. "Not how I saw my night going."

My phone started ringing next to Carrie's place on the couch, just as she called, "Left foot, green!"

"Can you see who that is, Care?" I asked, trying to maneuver my leg around Jamie to a green dot.

"She's busy feeling up Ginny," Carrington answered my phone. "Can I take a message?"

"Carrie!" I protested.

She laughed. "Right hand, blue."

"Who is it?" I pleaded as soon as my right hand was on the correct color. "Jamie!" I exclaimed as he bumped my arm and I fell on top of him and knocked over Ginny in the process.

Melissa jumped up. "I win! I win! I win! Who's next?"

"It's your boyfriend," Carrie finally told me, chuckling at something he said.

"Gimme! Gimme!" I made grabby hands at the phone.

"She was just on top of another guy, but if you still want - "

I snatched the phone from her hand. "Li?"

"What was that about being on top of some guy?" Liam teased.

"Just Jamie - he knocked me over. Made me lose," I replied, walking towards the kitchen for some privacy.

"Hey!" Jamie protested, overhearing me.

"Jamie from the club?" Liam asked.

"Yeah. Is the show already over?" I pulled a stool out from under the counter in the kitchen and sat down.

"Are you guys drinking?"

"Do I sound like I've been drinking?" I laughed.

I heard a deep chuckle. "You sound really happy."

"I'm having a good time."

"I'm glad, baby." I could hear the smile in his voice.

"How was the show?" I asked again.

"Louis and Haz are behaving, if that's what you're asking."

"No emergency  bearding , then?"

Liam chuckled. "You could just come. I'd love for you to travel the world with me, baby."

 Carrie appeared around the corner.  "We're starting 'Never Have I Ever'. Come join when you're done."

"'Never Have I Ever'? Seriously?" I asked.

Carrie grinned. "We're all mature enough to play stupid games for fun."

"I'll be there in a few," I promised, returning to my phone call. "Sorry."

"Twister and now 'Never Have I Ever'?" he asked. "Sounds like a fun night. I should let you get back to it."

"No, babe, I wanna talk. I miss you," I pleaded.

"It hasn't even been a whole day, yet, baby," he reminded me.

"You don't miss me?" I pouted.

"Of course, but you should go have fun."

"Liam - "

"Call me when you get home. I'll probably still be up."

"Are you sure? I don't think we'll be much longer," I assured him, not wanting to miss a chance to talk to him.

"I'll talk to you in a bit. Go have fun, love," he replied.

"I love you."

"I love you, too, baby."

\---

Liam's soft smile filled my laptop's screen. "Hey, baby."

I grinned. "Hi."

"Did you have a good night?"

"Yeah. How was  your  day? Anything exciting happen?" I asked.

He shook his head and shrugged. "Just hung out with Zayn and got ready for the show. You know how show days are."

"Yeah? And after? The show went good?"

"It's all been good, yeah. Tell me about your day, love."

I shrugged. "Tonight was fun. I can't remember the last time I played Twister or Sorry or Trouble. Melissa - Carrie's girlfriend - she's super competitive." I chuckled. "And it's hard not to have a good time around Carrie. And Carly was there, too! They're just fun to be around."

"They're Harry's friends, are you so surprised?" Liam grinned.

"Yeah, okay. But his friends always seem so cool and - well, way cooler than him."

Liam laughed, his whole face crinkling up. "Didn't you think Haz was cool before you really knew him?"

I snorted. "No. Confident? Charming? Yes. Cool? No."

"One Direction isn't cool?" he teased.

" _Zayn_ 's cool. The rest of you... well, I guess you all have your moments."

Liam's mouth dropped open, trying to figure out how to protest.

"You don't have to be  cool  to be supported and loved and obsessed over, babe. You know that." I laughed.

"It's only because Z's got that mysterious, quiet thing going for him," Liam insisted. "He's not cool either."

I chuckled. "I love you for all your not-coolness."

Liam pouted.

"You shouldn't do that when I can't kiss it off your face."

His lips turned up into a small smile. "Yeah?"

My cheeks flushed slightly.

"You're so cute when you blush."

"Shut up," I muttered.

"You love me," he teased.

"I miss you."

"Paris is next week," he reminded me.

"Yeah, I know. I still miss you, though," I whispered.

"I miss you, too, babe."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait and its kinda short so yeah, sorry. But I promise I'm working on this story. I'll finish it!! ...eventually.


	40. you're ruining this.

 

_** Good morning, beautiful.  ** _

_** Have a good day at work.  ** _

_** Never forget I love you. **_

I grinned down at the text message, pondering over my response for a few moments.

_ Good morning, my love. I'll miss you in the shower this morning almost as much as I missed cuddling with you last night. ;) _

__

**_ *sigh* Showers aren't nearly as fun without you. _ **

_ Lots of things aren't as fun without me. ;) _

**_ Like what?? _ **

_ If I was there, we'd take a nice long shower together. _

**_ I'd wash your hair like you like _ **

_ I could get my hands on those abs of yours. _

**_ I'd kiss your neck _ **

_ Mark me up? _

**_ Where only I'd see. _ **

_ You'd have to move away from my neck then... _

**_ Right over your heart. Claim it as mine. _ **

_ I'd do the same. _

_ As long as you didn't have a photoshoot coming up. _

_ And you didn't go swimming in public. _

**_ Babe. _ **

_ And didn't randomly decide to strip on stage. _

**_ BABE _ **

_ Don't you dare randomly decide to strip on stage. _

_ Like, I'm okay with the shirtless thing if it were to happen, I  guesss _

**_ You're ruining this. _ **

_ ;) _

_ You want me on my knees? _

**_ please. _ **

_ I'd take you into my mouth. _

**_ Yeah _ **

_ Too bad I have a horrible gag reflex and this will never happen. _

**_ BABE _ **

_ I'd literally choke on your dick. _

_ And not in a fun sexy way. _

**_ You suck. _ **

_ That's the point, I don't. _

**_ Riley. _ **

_ I'm going to take a shower. Just think about that. _

**_ It's a good thing I love you. Enjoy your shower. _ **

\----

"Hello?" I answered the phone, confused by the unknown number.

"Hey, babe," Harry's voice replied.

"Harry, hey, I wasn't expecting a call this morning."

"Sorry, that's my fault," Nick Grimshaw's voice came on the line.

"Grimmy?"

"Yeah, love. We've got you on the air. So no cussing or anything, alright?"

I chuckled. "Yeah, okay. Why am I on the air?"

"Trying to spice up our show," Nick replied.

"I think Harry'd do that well enough himself."

Nick laughed. "Now, Riley, we were just asking your boyfriend here when you'd be seeing each other again."

"And why is that any of your business?" I teased.

Harry chuckled. "Pretty much what I said, babe."

"Just wondering if you might be planning a trip to the city of love," Nick said.

"Harry?" I asked, not sure what to say.

"Ah, c'mon, love."

"We may or may not be seeing each other in the next week," Harry said. I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" Nick cajoled.

"All the world needs to know this?" I asked.

"Ah, well, now, how are you handling the long distance thing?"

"We've done it before," Harry reminded him.

I sighed before I realized the breath was escaping my mouth.

"What was that, Riley?"

"She just doesn't like being away from me," Harry covered.

"Long distance sucks, but it's not like I'm going to get in the way of his career - his dreams," I added. "Now, shouldn't you be talking about that? His dreams? Music?"

Grimmy chuckled. "That we will, right after this break."

A few seconds of silence and then Harry asks, "Are we off?"

"Off the air, indeed," Grimmy assured him.

"Alright, sorry for the random call, babe. You did well, though."

"Yeah, sure, well, I'm about to head out to work," I replied. "Can we FaceTime later? Louis, too?"

"Of course, love. We'll call after the show tonight," Harry promised.

"Alright, bye, love you."

"Love you," I replied.

"You two are adorable," Grimmy commented.

"Bye, love. I'll talk to you later," I said, ignoring his comment and hanging up.

\----

"Oh, hey, Michelle!" I greeted her with a smile and a brief hug. "I didn't realize you were coming."

Jordan leaned in for a quick hug. "I ran into her at the office. I didn't figure you'd mind."

"I haven't seen you in a while," Michelle joined in. "Thought it'd be nice to catch up a bit."

"Yeah, of course," I agreed. "How have you been?"

"Good, yeah."

"I'm heading out, Luke!" I called towards the corner where I knew he was stocking. "See you tomorrow!"

His head peaked around the corner. "Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"Where are we going?" Jordan asked as we exited the bookshop.

"Diner down the street?" I suggested.

They both nod and we walk that way, in no rush.

"You have a half-day today, too?" I asked Michelle. Jordan had already told me she wouldn't have to worry about us taking too long since she was only working til lunch.

Michelle shook her head. "I'm taking a long lunch, though. Worked over last night."

"Made any strides towards getting put on any bigger accounts?" I asked.

Her eyes lit up which was strange once she replied, "No, not really."

I looked over to Jordan, but she didn't notice anything weird, so I shook it off.

\---

"Ah, I get both my boys freshly showered and - are you wearing any clothes, Harry?" I asked as Harry and Louis both appeared on my phone's screen.

Harry chuckled.

"Sorry, love. You know how he is," Louis apologized.

I rolled my eyes. "How was your day?"

"Good, yeah. You talked to Li yet?" Louis asked.

"Texted him that I was talking to you two first tonight. Why?" 

"He's just seemed a little tense."

I frowned. "What's wrong?"

Louis and Harry exchanged a look. "Not entirely sure," Harry admitted.

"Figured you could talk to him - or you know,  talk  to him," Louis smirked.

"Louis!"

"What? Help a guy out. It relieves stress! It's scientifically proven - I think."

Harry laughed. "He's right. It does relieve stress."

I blushed.

"Have you tried phone sex yet?" Louis asked, seriously.

I gave him an incredulous look. "Since when are you so worried about my sex life?"

"Since you two finally started having one," Harry replied for him.

"Skype or FaceTime sex is even better than phone sex," Louis added.

"Well, duh."

Harry quirked an eyebrow at me. "So you've tried it?"

"Not really - not yet," I admitted. "It's only been a couple days. And I'm coming to Paris."

"So give him a taste of what's to come," Louis insisted. "Put on something sexy and surprise him. Tonight."

" Louis ."

"Or nothing works, too."

" Harry. "

They both chuckled at my discomfort.

"Okay, okay. We'll drop it," Louis conceded. "Still, he does seem a little stressed, so you might be extra sweet to him."

"Yeah, yeah. What about Ni? He doing alright?" I asked.

"I don't think Liam would want you and Niall having phone sex," Harry said, smirking.

"You know what I meant. I haven't talked to him or Z since you guys left."

"We're all fine. Everybody's fine."

\----

"Hey, babe," Liam greeted me. I switched to my laptop to talk to him, relaxing on the pillows stacked at the head of my bed.

"Hey, gorgeous." I grinned.

He looked a little tired, his smile a little less bright than usual.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Just a little tired. You talk to Louis and Harry already?"

"They mentioned you seemed stressed.... They also mentioned how I could relieve that stress but I didn't have to guts to go for it and - well, what's wrong?"

A small smirk started forming at the corner of his mouth. "Ideas to relieve stress?"

"Are you stressed?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"If you're willing to help me relieve it."

I shook my head, smiling. "Maybe you should just tell me what's wrong."

"Maybe I'm just stressed." He took his shirt off. "And you?"

I shook my head. "I can't even sext, you think I can do this?"

He pouted. "We don't have to."

"After Paris, I promise."

He nodded his consent. "I can't wait to see you."

"Yeah. I just wish it could be incognito. Kinda hate that I have to go out with Harry, too. Everybody'll know I'm there and - " I sighed. "It's just harder to disappear when they know to look for me. And Grimmy called this morning and now everyone knows to look for me on tour soon."

"I heard about that." He frowned.

"We'll see each other, though. That's all that matters. I'll get to sleep with your arms around me."

"I'm sorry our lives are complicated."

I shook my head. "I never would've met you, babe. If it wasn't like this, we wouldn't even know each other."

"That's a scary thought," he admitted.

"Besides, I'm sorry I - "

"I love you. Don't even finish that sentence. I fell for you - don't apologize for that."

I smiled. "I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this! Paris will be next chapter :D
> 
> Comments/kudos are AH-mazing and I love them ;)


	41. It's a Complicated Web

**_Liam Payne's new lady love?_**  

 

 ** _Liam dating again_**  

 

 ** _#LiamBeHappy trending on twitter as dating rumors swirl_**  

 

 ** _Fans freak over Liam dating rumors._**  

 

 _@roseanne3louis: They don't even have pictures to back up these Liam rumors - I call bullshit._  

 

 _@maryeee395: #LiamBeHappy single or taken, we just want you happy, babe._  

 

 _@liamlove302: #LiamBeHappy #LileyIsReal_  

 

 _@markus39__: pictures or it didn't happen. #LiamBeHappy_  

 

 _@Real_Liam_Payne: Thanks for the trend. Happy as can be right now. Love you all. :)_  

 

 

 

"Are they really going to make you date somebody?" I asked as soon as he answered the phone. 

"It's a PR thing, baby," Liam sighed. "Besides, they think I'm single, remember? It'll probably be some actress or something who needs the publicity." 

I frowned, thinking of all the models that could be sent out on a date with my boyfriend. 

"It won't be til after Paris. They just wanted to present the idea and get a reaction now." 

"Is this what you were stressed about? Yesterday?" 

He nodded. "A bit, yeah. I don't like it, but I also don't really have a good reason to protest, you know? We're not supposed to be together, so I can't just say I'm in a committed relationship." 

"I know. It's a complicated web we've weaved." 

"I love you, though. A lot. You know that, right?" 

I smiled. "Yeah. I love you, too, babe." 

"Don't believe anything you read. Unless it says I'm gorgeous and talented - that I'd like you to believe," he chuckled. 

"Of course," I replied, rolling my eyes.  

"Just don't worry about it. Avoid the tabloids." 

"Yes, sir." 

"Alright, now when are you getting into Paris tomorrow?" 

 

\--- 

 

"Well, I hope you have a good trip," Alyssa told me. "Enjoy your boy toy while you can." 

I grinned. "Yeah, I plan to." 

"Bring me some macaroons!" Luke requested. 

"Of course, if it'll put me in your good graces," I told my boss. 

He laughed. "Definitely will." 

"I'll see you guys next week." 

"Have fun!" 

"Be safe!" 

 

\--- 

 

"Sorry, are you Riley?" The teenage brunette had approached me as I waited for my train to arrive, interrupting my reading.  

I smiled. "Yes? Sorry, do I know you?" 

"Aren't you dating Harry Styles?" she asked. 

I concentrated on holding in the sigh as I nodded. She frantically waved her two friends over from where they were watching our exchange. 

"Can we get a picture?" 

"Are you going to see him?" 

"Can you give this to him?" A sketchbook was shoved into my hands. I nodded automatically, keeping the smile on my face and attempting to keep it as real as possible. 

I glanced down at the cover of the sketchbook and saw Louis' rope tattoo and Harry's anchor tattoo across the cover. It melted my heart a bit as I posed for the picture with the girls. I assured them that I'd pass the book along to Harry and told them it was nice to meet them. I shoved the book into my bag and threw it over my shoulder just as my train was called for boarding. 

I spent the trip reading and then sleeping. The chairs were so comfortable, it was hard not to fall asleep. 

 

\--- 

 

"Hey, love," Harry greeted me with a quick kiss to the lips. "How was the trip?" 

I smiled. "Easy peasy. I can't believe haven't zipped off to Paris before now." 

Harry laughed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as Dale led us through the busy train station. We came upon a group of girls, clearly watching for Harry, and Dale paused so Harry could snap a few quick photos and say 'bonjour' to all of them. One of the girls smiled and said 'hello' to me, too. 

Harry easily slipped into French, only stumbling over a few phrases, which just endeared him to the girls all the more. He made his apologies for cutting things short and grabbed my hand to continue on to the car that was waiting for us. 

"Li can't stand that I got to come get you," Harry said as soon as we were in the privacy of the car. "Seriously, he didn't say anything - I mean, you know him, cool and collected, but I could tell it was just killing him that I was going to see you first and pretty much announce your arrival." 

I smiled. "I can't wait to see him." 

"Louis's helping me plan our date." 

"Oh? I figured management was just telling us what to do." 

"Well, they're approving what I decide, of course." He rolled his eyes. "But they've realized you and I are better at this whole faking it thing than Lou and Eleanor." 

I chuckled. "They can't even hold hands properly." 

"It's Louis' last defense against what they're making him do. We didn't get a say in her like we did you." 

I rolled my eyes. "You mean she didn't come ask your permission before agreeing to a contract?" 

Harry nudged my shoulder. "Yeah, that." 

"Bet you never thought we'd end up like this." 

He chuckled. "No. Definitely not. Not sure how we'll weave our way out of the tangle of lies when we're allowed to." 

I frowned. "Sorry, me dating a bandmate made things way more complicated." 

"Yeah, but you're in love with him and he's in love with you. We wouldn't trade you two's happiness for a little simplicity in our lives," he assured me. 

I grinned. "Good to know." 

 

\--- 

 

 ** _#HarleyinParis trends worldwide as Harry picks his girlfriend up from the train station in Paris_**  

 

 ** _Harry Styles shows his lady some love_**  

 

 ** _Fans gush over Harry Styles being a good boyfriend_**  

 

\--- 

 

"Lou and I got connecting rooms, so you can have mine like usual and I'll stay with him," Harry told me as we pulled up to the hotel. "Liam's is just down the hall. We've got the whole floor again." 

"Okay," I replied, distracted by the huge crowd outside the hotel. 

"Sorry, it didn't take them long to figure out where we were staying. Niall and Zayn are at a different hotel. Technically, Louis hasn't been spotted at either one." He smirked. 

"Convenient, that." 

He chuckled. "Well, it's the way things work. Be glad Li didn't get put in a different hotel." 

"Oh, yeah, I'm definitely glad." I grinned. 

A few more bodyguards came out to help lead us inside. Harry stopped for pictures and to say 'hello' to several fans on the way to the door, holding my hand all the way. No one was going to miss that Harry Styles had his girlfriend in the city of love with him. 

We finally made it upstairs to Harry and Louis' rooms where Louis greeted me with a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. 

"We've missed you, love," he said. 

I hugged him again. "I've missed you, too. The house is so quiet without you guys around." 

"Yeah? Haven't thrown any ragers in our absence?" Louis teased. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas! Hope you all are having a happy holiday and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter.
> 
> Comments/kudos are wonderful Christmas presents, just sayin' ;)
> 
> Reunited with Liam in the city of love coming up next :D


	42. Bit Weird

"I missed you," I murmur into Liam's chest. His arms are wrapped around me in a tight embrace and I feel him kiss my hair. Louis and Harry had already excused themselves with a quick reminder that we were to leave for the stadium in a couple hours. 

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," Liam teases. 

I pull back enough to shoot him a quick glare. "I'm fond enough, thanks." 

He grins. "I love you." 

"I know." I smirk. 

His lips fall into a pout with his puppy dog eyes making an appearance. 

"I'm kind of in love with you, if you hadn't noticed," I concede. 

He presses a brief kiss to my lips. "I noticed. I'm very observant. Especially when it comes to you." 

"Oh?" I quirk an eyebrow at him. 

"I'm studiously pursuing a degree in all things Riley Anne Parker." 

"And what has been your latest lesson?" I ask, attempting to stifle the grin spreading across my face. 

"She doesn't like to ask for what she wants. She gets flustered when people compliment her. She likes to FaceTime me in her pajamas so she can pretend I'm next to her when she goes to sleep." I blush. "And she's a bit of a clothes thief when you give her a key to your place." 

My mouth drops open. "How did you know?" 

His lips curve up, pleased. "I wasn't a hundred percent certain," he confesses. 

I slide my fingers between his, focusing on how they fit together as I murmur my explanation, blushing. "It smells like you and - " 

"I don't need an explanation, babe. It's fine." 

Tears fill my eyes at his soft, understanding tone. I hate how emotional I get during my 'time of the month'. 

"Hey," Liam frowns at the tears. "What's wrong, baby?" 

I blink and a tear escapes, dashing down my cheek. He wipes it away with a gentle thumb. 

"Want to sit?" He suggests. 

I follow him over to an armchair where he sits and pulls me into his lap. "Sorry," I mutter, willing the remaining tears away. "I just – I get stupid emotional and sensitive during my monthly and I'm so frustrated that it had to happen _now_  instead of earlier this week or later next week." 

He strokes his fingers through my hair. "You feeling okay? Need anything?" He asks in a gentle voice. "Hey, I wasn't trying to make you cry," he protests as a few tears slip down my cheeks. 

I lean into his chest. "I'm fine right here." 

His arms settle around me. "I'm good like this. Want to turn a movie on?" 

"'m sorry," I mutter. 

"Sorry for what?" He asks, confused. 

"No sex. Stupid period." 

"You know I didn't just want you to come for that? I just want to see you," he insists. 

"Still, sex was on the menu and now - " 

"Now, we can cuddle and talk and you can assure your paranoid best friends down the hall that I haven't gotten you pregnant." 

I giggle. 

"And I get to take you on a date in the city of love and - " 

"Okay, okay," I concede. 

"Now, are you sure you don't need anything?" 

I shake my head. 

 

\--- 

 

A knock at the door wakes me up and I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep. 

I hear the door beep as it accepts a key card. 

"Z's got my other key," Liam explains. 

"Li, are you awake? - Oh, sorry," Zayn stumbles over his words. "I didn't realize you were – here – already." 

I chuckle. "No worries, Zayn," I assure him. "I just fell asleep. Liam's too good at cuddling." Liam squeezes my hip. 

Zayn lets out an awkward chuckle-snort. 

There's a pause and then Liam asks, "Need something, Z?" 

"Oh, yeah. The cars are about to head to the stadium. Thought I'd make sure you were up," Zayn explains. His eyes dart through the room, avoiding the chair where I'm still cuddled up with Liam. 

"Well, we're up," Liam replies. 

Another awkward pause. 

"I better go find Harry," I finally say. "I'm sure we're expected for a photo-op." 

I press a chaste kiss to Liam's cheek. "Love you," he murmurs. "See you soon." 

I carefully slip out of his room and down the hall to mine, glad Harry'd made sure I had a key card earlier. 

I quickly change out of my wrinkly clothes before knocking on the door that adjoins our rooms. 

"C'mon in, love," Louis' voice calls. 

"I'm about ready," Harry assures me from his place in front of the mirror. Lou is there, working her magic on his curls. 

"Lottie, why don't you do something with Riley's hair?" She suggests. 

 

"I didn't even realize you were here," I tell Lottie after she's positioned me in chair next to Harry. 

"Yeah, well, I've finally convinced Lou to teach me everything she knows," Lottie replies with a smirk. 

"Oh, so you're joining tour?" 

"As long as they'll have me," she confirms. 

"No, don't put it up," Louis protests. "Riles never wears her hair down!" 

"'Cause it gets in the way when its all down." 

"In the way of what? You're just coming to see the show and hang ut – maybe snog your boyfriend a bit." 

"Or _your_  boyfriend," Lottie chuckles. 

Louis glares at her. 

"What? 's true." 

 

Thirty minutes later, Harry and I are making our way through the crowd to the Escalade waiting on us. Cameras are getting shoved in our faces and people are screaming. 

The silence after he pulls the car door shut is almost deafening – only a dull roar heard from outside. It takes a few minutes to pull away from the crowd. The other two boys got to sneak out the back while we held the crowd's attention. 

"I thought Zayn was staying at the other hotel," I ask, suddenly breaking the silence. 

"He is," Harry replies. 

"Then why does he have Liam's room key?" 

Harry shrugs. "They're a bit attached." 

I shoot him a concerned look that has him back-pedaling.  

"Not attached like _that_. Just – they take care of each other on tour." My frown deepens. "Not, like, _sexually_ ," he insists. "Just – you know, a good cuddle when they're feelin' lonely and – they're best mates, Ri. You know that." 

"Yeah, of course. I just – it was a bit weird earlier when he showed up." 

"Weird how?" Harry questions. 

"Like, I dunno. He was, like, avoiding looking at us and they were both barely saying anything and – I dunno – made me feel like I was the one interrupting something," I try to explain. 

"I dunno, Ri. Probably just forgot you were coming today," he shrugs it off. 

"Yeah. Maybe." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally updated! :)
> 
> Sorry its taking so long. I've started on the next chapter as well, so hopefully get that up soon. :)
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> .....thoughts on spinning off into a Ziam threesome are appreciated. I'd still finish out Liley stand-alone story, too, but I'm intrigued by a Ziam/Riley polyamorous story... so yeah, let me know what you think about that! :)


	43. Chapter 43

"You know Liam would never - " Louis starts. 

"Don't be ridiculous," I cut him off. "I know Liam would never cheat on me. I'm just wondering about _Zayn_." 

Harry and Louis exchange a look. 

"What _about_ Zayn?" Harry asks. 

I sigh. "Like – if he's got a _thing_ for my boyfriend." 

The couple exchange another look and laugh, awkwardly. 

"Zayn's straight – and so is Liam, for that matter." 

I sigh. "Fine. You think I'm being paranoid?" 

"Yes," they answer in sync. 

"But - " 

"No, just stop, Riley," Louis insists. "You're in the city of love with your _boyfriend_. Who you're in love with. Who is in love with _you_. Just enjoy yourself. Stop overthinking things." 

I take a deep breath. "Okay, yeah. You're right." 

 

\---- 

 

"You are ridiculous," I giggle. 

Liam presses a kiss to my lips as his fingers slip up my shirt to tickle my stomach. 

"Stop!" I plead. 

Liam's hand comes up to cover my mouth. "Can't be letting everyone know you're in here," he whispers with a smirk. 

I push his hand away. "You need to shower. You stink." 

He pouts. "Come with me." He pulls me up off the couch. 

"That shower's tiny," I protest. 

The dressing room door suddenly opens an we dart apart. 

"I did knock," Zayn insists with a chuckle. 

"Sorry, didn't hear you," I reply with a blush. 

"There's a couple people who want to meet you," Zayn says. "They didn't get to the show early enough to come back beforehand." 

"Oh, yeah, okay. Just let me grab a quick shower," Liam replies, pulling his shirt off over his head on the way to the small bathroom. 

Zayn seems to debate staying for a moment before sitting down. 

"It was a great show tonight," I say, attempting to break the icy silence. 

"Yeah," Zayn nods, glancing at the door Liam disappeared through. 

I bite my lip, waiting for him to continue. I only hold out a few moments. "You and Liam seem to be getting along." 

His eyes dart to mine and then away. "Yeah, its great to be back on tour." 

I watch him for a moment before turning my attention to my phone.  

I flee the awkward silence a couple minutes later with an excuse of meeting Harry. 

 

\--- 

 

"Our date's tomorrow night," Harry tells me on the way back to the hotel. "We've got a radio interview in the morning, but then we're free the rest of the day." 

"So I get to play supportive girlfriend at the interview?" I ask, leaning against Harry's shoulder. 

His arm slips around me and he presses a kiss to the top of my head. "You tired?" 

I nod and yawn. 

"Guess it's a god thing you and Liam had alone time earlier, huh?" He teases. 

I drift off without answering and Harry shakes me awake some time later. 

"Huh? What?" I mumble, slightly disoriented. 

"We're back to the hotel, love." 

"Oh. Cameras?" I ask, trying to straighten my hair and clothes into something presentable. 

He chuckles. "No, we're in the car park. No cameras." 

"Oh, okay." The car door opens and I climb out, followed by Harry who slips his arm around my waist. 

"You can sleep as soon as we get upstairs, love." 

"But, Li - " I start. 

"Already has a key to your room."  

I mumble my goodnights when we get to our floor and decide to shower before climbing into bed. Liam's there on the bed waiting by the time I get out. 

Few words are exchanged as I climb in next to him. He turns on Doctor Who and I'm asleep before the end of the first episode. 

 

\--- 

 

 _"Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me_." 

I groan and pull the blankets over my head. 

 _"Don't you - "_  

"Yeah, I'm up," Liam answers the phone. "See you soon. Yeah." His hand gently strokes my stomach. "You awake?" 

I shake my head as he pulls the blanket away and he chuckles. 

"C'mon, love," Liam whispers. "Radio station's expecting us in an hour. And I want a good morning kiss from my girl before I have to watch you be couple-y with someone else." 

"Don't be so reasonable so early in the morning," I mutter, rolling over to face him. 

He smiles. "One of us has to be." He pulls me in for a cuddle. "I've really got to go get dressed – didn't bring anything with me last night." 

I grumble my assent, climbing out of bed. 

"Hey, don't I get a good morning kiss?" He asks, crawling across the bed after me. 

"Hold on, I've got to pee," I protest, darting into the bathroom and shutting the door. 

" _Riley_ ," he protests. 

I giggle and quickly take care of business before opening the door and handing him a toothbrush. 

"Ri _ley_ ," he pouts. 

"I'll make it worth your while," I tease, grinning around the toothpaste already in my mouth. 

He sighs, pretending to be more frustrated than he is and takes the toothbrush.  

As soon as we've both rinsed and spit, he tugs me away from the sink and out the bathroom door. "You make me crazy," he mutters before pressing his lips to mine. I can't keep from smiling into the kiss and he pinches my side in retaliation as he smiles in return. 

"You love me," I tease, pressing another kiss to his lips. 

He steps me back into a wall and deepens the kiss. His fingers play at my waist, up and down, back and forth against the thin material of my pajamas. I halt the kiss sooner than I'd like, knowing we both need to get ready. 

"I _do_  love you," he murmurs, catching my lips in another kiss. 

"But we've got to - " 

A knock at the door halts my words. I dart a look at Liam before walking over to answer while he steps out of sight. 

"You about ready?" Louis asks, pushing into the room. 

"Riley, you aren't even dressed!" Harry exclaims. 

"We were just - " I start. 

"We don't need to know," Harry cuts me off. He's already at the small closet where I'd managed to hang a few dresses. "Here, wear this one," he says, tossing a navy blue dress onto the bed. 

Liam grumbles slightly as he leaves the room. "I'll see you soon, baby."  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a couple days late from when I intended to post, but that's not as bad as it has been! lol This is just filler, sorry. More happening next chapter.


	44. Chapter 44

"I'm here with the guys of One Direction - " The DJ pauses for the boys to all say a quick 'hello'. " - and we're taking callers. Anything you want to ask these boys! Now is the time. . . and we have our first caller. . . You're on the air! Who is this?" 

"Oh my god! Hi! I'm Ginny. I'm _such_ a big fan!" 

"Hi, love," Harry replies. "Did you have a question?" 

"Oh my god. Yes, uhm, who's single? And would you ever date a fan?" 

The boys share a slightly exasperated look, smiles still plastered across their faces. 

"Niall, why don't we start with you?" The DJ suggests. 

"Single," Niall confirms. "And yeah, if there's a connection then there's a connection, yeah?" 

"Agreed," Liam adds. 

"I think you'd want your significant other to be supportive and a fan of your work, right?" Zayn says. "My fiancee's a fan of my work and vice versa." 

"Perrie Edwards of _Little Mix_ is Zayn's fiancee, for anyone who has been living under a rock," the DJ interjects. 

The boys laugh good-naturedly. 

"Louis? Harry?" He encourages them. 

"Eleanor's supportive, yeah," Louis answers as vaguely as possible. 

"I met my girl at a meet-and-greet, actually," Harry confesses, shooting me a small smile though the glass.  

"Ah, yes, the lovely Riley is standing just outside. Are you two enjoying your time in the city of love?" 

"Yeah, it's a gorgeous city. She loves it here." 

"Next caller – hi, you're on the air." 

"Hi! It's my best friend's birthday. Could you wish her happy birthday? Please? Her name's Melanie." 

They all wish Melanie a happy birthday in varying degrees of enthusiasm. 

"What's _your_ name, love?" Liam asks. "Did you have a question?" 

"What's your favorite song to perform?" 

I pay little attention to the rest of the interview, texting Michelle and Jordan while I waited for it to end. I catch Zayn whispering in Liam's ear more times than I'm comfortable with and cringe when a fan asks if any of them had kissed. Liam and Zayn share a look before sharing that they'd "accidentally" kissed once. The way Zayn is looking at Liam told everyone it was anything but an accident. 

The interview continues, but I know the "Ziam kiss" confession will be the bit buzzing around the web. 

 

 

Harry wraps his arm around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my temple on the way out of the radio station. "They're just friends," he quietly reminds me. 

Zayn's arm is around Liam ahead of us. I know it shouldn't bother me, but the twinge in my heart says otherwise. 

"I know," I murmur. Harry guides me through the crowd outside to the cars. Niall jumps in with us, the other three already jumping into the first car. 

"Can't believe Liam said that," Niall states as the car pulls into the road. "Like the gay rumors need any more fuel in this band." He chuckles. 

"Are they really 'rumors' if they're true?" I ask, smiling innocently. 

Harry laughs. "She's got ya there." 

"Ziam's got almost the following you and Lou have, ya know." 

Harry smirks. "Not nearly." 

"Larry's actually real, though," I interject. "Zayn and Liam are just – well, friends with benefits, I guess. . . They're not really - " 

"Ziam's not real," Harry assures me. 

Niall darts a confused look between us. "What's - " 

"Zayn's in love with him, though. Isn't he?" I ask, staring Niall down. 

Niall's mouth opens and closes multiple times as he searches for a response. 

" _Riley_ ," Harry sighs. 

"I just want to _know_ ," I insist. "They've been – _weird -_ and the way they just looked at each other in that interview. . . " 

Niall and Harry exchange a look. 

"It's not our place to say. You'll have to talk to Zayn." 

"But Liam - " 

" - isn't going to do anything to hurt me, I _know_ ," I insist. 

 

 

 

Not long after we all return to our hotel, my opportunity presented itself. Zayn had come to hang out until he's needed for vocals and Liam got pulled into a quick session. He assures us that he'll be back in a half hour, tops. 

Zayn's eyes dart to the door as soon as Liam's gone, appearing to contemplate his escape plan. 

"Can we talk?" I quickly ask. 

His eyes study me for a moment. "About what?" 

I swallow thickly. "Liam." 

His gaze drops to the floor and he takes a deep breath. "What about him?" He asks, trying to sound nonchalant. 

"Do you have – _feelings_ for him?" 

I can see his jaw shift and his shoulders stiffen. 

"I just - " I start to continue but he cuts me off. 

"What does it matter?" Li's with you and he's happy. I would never let anyone – much less myself – screw that up." He looks up and there's fire in his eyes as he continues. "He's happy with you. That's all that matters." 

My breath catches in my throat and he's up and out of the room before I can formulate a response. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow "Something Contraband" to see Riley choose to date Zayn and Liam.
> 
> Follow "Forbidden Exposure" to see Riley deal with Zayn's confession as she continues to date Liam.


End file.
